On October 11, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyi held a meeting with Pope Francis. Their conversation took place in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican.
Points of attention
- During the meeting, the head of state and the pontiff discussed issues of peace for Ukraine and the implementation of the Peace Formula.
- Zelensky expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for his support, humanitarian aid and participation in the first Peace Summit.
- The Ukrainian leader told the Pope about the atrocities of Russia, the deaths of Ukrainian journalists in captivity and called on the Vatican to help free the Kremlin prisoners.
What is known about Zelensky's meeting with the Pope
The President of Ukraine expressed gratitude to His Holiness for prayers for peace for Ukraine, spiritual closeness with Ukrainians, humanitarian aid and the Vatican's participation in the first Peace Summit.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy talked about the work on the implementation of the Peace Formula, in particular, the conference on the return of captured and deported Ukrainians, which will be held on October 30-31 in Canada at the ministerial level. He invited the representative of the Vatican to take part in this event.
The head of state also reminded once again that there are still wounded, seriously ill women and children in enemy captivity.
In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyi added that the aggressor country of the Russian Federation continues to kidnap Ukrainian children from the occupied territories.
And then it is extremely difficult to look for these children at all, — emphasized the Ukrainian leader.
Zelensky told the Pope even more about the atrocities of Russia
The head of state also reminded the pontiff about the captured journalists and said that the day before it became known about the death of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roschyna in Russian captivity.
Against this background, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the Vatican to facilitate the return home of Ukrainian journalists, public figures, community leaders from the occupied territory, all captured.
During this conversation, the Ukrainian leader and the pontiff agreed that Kyiv would hand over the list of captured journalists.
We know that there are more than 400 women in captivity in Russia. It has been accurately confirmed through the International Committee of the Red Cross and other sources that 1,700 civilians are being held captive. According to our data, this number can be significantly higher.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi
President of Ukraine
The President emphasized that almost all those returning from captivity need medical assistance and long-term rehabilitation.
