Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a press conference after a meeting of European leaders in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on May 10, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Poland agreed to call on Russia to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire starting May 12, Kyiv said on May 10th. The proposal came after the four leaders, part of an alliance Britain and France call "the coalition of the willing", met with the Ukrainian president in Kyiv. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP)
Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian President invited Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine on Monday during their first phone call, thanking the newly installed pontiff while urging peace in Ukraine.
“I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers, to all our people,” Zelensky said in a post on social media.
Zelensky noted that the two leaders also discussed the thousands of Ukrainian children deported by Russia, adding that Kyiv was counting on the Vatican’s help in returning them home.
Going further, Leo had urged from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to thousands gathered to hear his first prayer on Sunday, appealing for a genuine, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, echoing his predecessor Francis.
However, Kyiv had recognised the Vatican’s efforts in mediating prisoner exchanges and the return of children taken to Russia from occupied parts of Ukraine.
