Pope Leo XIV called peace in Ukraine from the central balcony of the Saint-Pierre Basilica on Sunday during his first Sunday speech after his election.
Domenico Stinellis / AP
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Domenico Stinellis / AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Pope Leo XIV, asking the new Pope for help to bring children to the expelled house from Ukraine to Russia.
The Ukrainian president also said that he invited the new pope to visit Ukraine and that the two men “had agreed to stay in touch and plan (one) meeting in person in the near future”.
Zelenskyy said that a visit to the new pope “would bring real hope to all believers and all our people”.
The telephone call followed the call of the Pope for Peace in Ukraine during an address of the Loggia of the Saint-Pierre Basilica on Sunday afternoon.
On Monday, Zelenskyy posted on X on his first conversation with Leo, saying that he had thanked the Pope for his support for Ukraine.
“We deeply appreciate his words about the need to reach a just and lasting peace for our country and the liberation of prisoners,” said the Ukrainian president.
Zelenskyy said that he also discussed “thousands of Ukrainian children expelled by Russia”.
Ukraine “is counting on the help of the Vatican to bring them home to their families,” said Zelenskyy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior Kremlin officials have funded and facilitated the transport of Ukrainian children in occupying regions of Ukraine to binding reception and adoptions since the 2022 invasion, according to a survey published by the Humanitarian Research Laboratory of the University of Yale. The Trump administration reduced the laboratory funding in March.
On March 19, Zelenskyy said he had a positive, very substantial and frank conversation with President Trump, among others, “the return of Ukrainian children who were taken by Russian forces”.
