Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday praised the Vatican’s efforts to promote peace and secure the release of prisoners of war during discussions with a senior official, marking a shift from previous tensions between Kyiv and the Holy See.
Zelenskiy expressed gratitude to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin for “the signal” his visit to Kyiv sent.
“It is a signal of support for Ukraine, Ukrainians, and our desire to live in our own state and truly live in peace,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
Cardinal Parolin, effectively Pope Francis’s second-in-command, visited four cities in Ukraine. Zelenskiy noted that their talks focused on “what can be done this year to bring closer a just peace for Ukraine.”
“It is very important for us and for the cause of peace that the Vatican is active in protecting life and helping us implement the peace formula, especially regarding the release of prisoners,” he added, referring to Ukraine’s peace plan discussed at last month’s Swiss-organized peace summit.
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“It was a good meeting, and I hope there will be results.”
Relations between Ukraine and the Vatican have been strained since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Kyiv took issue with Pope Francis’s earlier comments suggesting that Kyiv should have the courage to “wave the white flag” and negotiate an end to the war. Kyiv also criticized the Pope for sympathizing with the daughter of a prominent Russian ultra-nationalist killed by a car bomb near Moscow, describing her as an innocent victim of war.
A papal envoy has visited Kyiv and Moscow as part of efforts to return Ukrainian children allegedly deported by Russia. Pope Francis has repeatedly called for peace and condemned attacks during the conflict, including a strike on medical facilities in Kyiv earlier this month.
Ties between Kyiv and the Vatican are strengthened by the presence of around 5 million Eastern-rite Catholics in Ukraine.
