Both the Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis have had separate phone calls with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church in which they discussed the need for peace in Ukraine.

The Archbishop of Canterbury expressed his "deep concern" over the war in Ukraine during a video call with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on Wednesday afternoon. 

Archbishop Justin Welby raised the "urgent need for peace in Ukraine" and for a ceasefire, Lambeth Palace said. 

He described the war as "a great tragedy" and said that "war and violence is never the answer" as he pressed Patriarch Kirill to join him in "speaking for peace in public".

"The Archbishop said we need to find ways to live as neighbours in Europe without the aggression and human suffering which have been too much part of our life and history," said a statement from Lambeth Palace.

The Archbishop said that Christians were called to be peacemakers and must "do what we can to enable politicians to do their work of establishing the freedom and rights of all people in Ukraine".

"Both leaders emphasised the need to achieve a lasting peace based on justice as soon as possible and agreed to continued communication," the readout from Lambeth Palace concluded. 

Kirill is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has faced criticism for refusing to condemn the invasion of Ukraine.

In a separate video call on Wednesday, Pope Francis told Kirill that the Church "must unite in the effort to aid peace, to help those who suffer, to seek ways of peace, and to stop the fire".

"The ones who pay the price of war are the people, the Russian soldiers and the people who are bombarded and die," he said. 

"Wars are always unjust, since it is the people of God who pay. Our hearts cannot but weep before the children and women killed, along with all the victims of war. War is never the way.

"The Spirit that unites us asks us as shepherds to help the peoples who suffer from war."