Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has met Pope Leo XIV at his residence in Castel Gandolfo to discuss the ongoing conflict with Russia.
The meeting was described by the Vatican as being cordial and was focused on attempts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict, prisoner exchanges, and the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia.
The Pope also expressed his willingness to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine in any potential negotiations.
The Vatican has been outspoken in its calls for peace since the start of the conflict.
The late Pope Francis denounced the Russian attack as an “offence against God and humanity” and referred to the conflict as a “war” rather than the term favoured by the Russian government, “special military operation”.
However, Francis also said Ukraine should have the "courage of the white flag" and have greater willingness to negotiate a ceasefire. He also clarified that he did not mean a simple surrender. In the early days of the conflict Francis also said that NATO had “perhaps somehow provoked” the Russian action.
By contrast, shortly after his election, Pope Leo called the war "a fratricidal assault on human dignity", that was the result of "Russia's imperial ambitions". He urged Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill to "repent of complicity in bloodshed”.
Meanwhile, President Zelensky has also been criticised for “a full-scale crime against humanity” in his treatment of members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, particularly Metropolitan Arseny, who has been imprisoned and allegedly tortured.
Arseny was accused of revealing the position of army checkpoints to the enemy during a sermon. However, his lawyers say that the checkpoints were not even manned at the time of the sermon, nor did any come under attack following the sermon. Action was only taken against Arseny when he, months after delivering the sermon, criticised persecution of the UOC by the Ukrainian government.
