“I spoke with Pope Leo XIV. It was our first conversation, but already a very warm and truly substantive one,” Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media on May 12, 2025. The day before, the new Pope had called for “authentic, just, and lasting peace.”
Four days after his election, Leo XIV is already hard at work on the diplomatic front. Yesterday, during the Regina Cæli, he sent a special message to the “beloved Ukrainian people” whom he ”carries in [his] heart.” Speaking to the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square, he also called for the release of all prisoners, the return of children to Ukraine, and the achievement of authentic, just, and lasting peace.
This morning, the Ukrainian president said he had spoken by phone with the new Pope. “I thanked His Holiness for his support for Ukraine and all our people,” he wrote on his Twitter account. “We deeply value his words about the need to achieve a just and lasting peace for our country and the release of prisoners,” he added.
Volodymyr Zelensky said he also discussed with the Pope “the thousands of Ukrainian children deported by Russia.” He said he is counting on the Vatican to bring them “home to their families.”
Pope Francis had entrusted this mission to Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, who has extensive experience in international mediation through his involvement in the Community of Sant'Egidio.
“We agreed to stay in contact”
In his message, the Ukrainian president also said he had informed the Pope “about the agreement between Ukraine and our partners that, starting today, a full and unconditional ceasefire for at least 30 days must begin.”
He also wrote that he had reaffirmed Ukraine's willingness to continue negotiations “in any format, including direct talks.”
“Ukraine wants to end this war and is doing everything to achieve that. We now await similar steps from Russia,” the Ukrainian added.
Volodymyr Zelensky concluded his message by explaining that he had invited Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine. “Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people,” he said, before concluding: “We agreed to stay in contact and plan in-person meeting in the near future” (sic).
Cardinal Prevost's strong condemnation of the Russian invasion
In the past, plans for Pope Francis to visit Ukraine were outlined after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. During a trip to Malta in April 2022, the Argentine pope told the press that such a trip was “under consideration.” But he explained that he did not know “if it will be possible, if it is appropriate to do so, if it is convenient to do so, and if I should do so.” Observers at the time considered how difficult it would be to keep the crowds safe if the Pope were to go there.
Pope Francis was at times criticized for giving the impression that he was putting Russia and Ukraine on the same footing. In March 2024, he angered Kiev by calling on Ukrainians to “raise the white flag” and have the “courage” to negotiate.
Before being elected pope, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost strongly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In a video interview published in 2022 by the weekly Semanario Expresión, Cardinal Prevost denounced in Spanish what he called a “genuine Russian imperialist invasion.” He also spoke of crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.
