Zelensky asks the Pope to help in efforts to free Ukrainians from captivity in Russia / Diena

“During the meeting with Pope Francis, the question of bringing our people home from captivity was the main topic,” the president said on the platform “X” after the talks in the Vatican.

It was Zelenskiy’s second private audience in the Vatican since Russia’s massive intervention. The two leaders also met at the G7 summit in southern Italy in June.

Journalists, public figures, community leaders and ordinary people captured by Russia are mourning in Russian prisons, Zelensky said.

“For all of us in Ukraine, the issue of people being caught and deported is still very painful,” the president said.

Ukraine has previously asked the Vatican to help return children forcibly taken to Russia.

Francis has called for peace again and tried to play the role of a mediator in the conflict. True, his efforts have not yet yielded results.

Zelensky’s meeting with Pope Francis lasted 35 minutes. During this, the leaders exchanged gifts. Zelensky presented Francis with the “Butch Massacre” photo.

After that, the President of Ukraine met with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Minister of Foreign Affairs Paul Richard Gallagher.

These talks were dedicated to “the state of war and the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, as well as ways to end it, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace in the country,” the Vatican said in a statement.

The Vatican said “some issues related to the religious life of the country were also examined.”

Francis met with the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church on Thursday before Zelensky’s visit.

A hard winter awaits Ukraine – Moscow is still hitting the country’s power grid, but the situation on the eastern front is still difficult.