President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky visited Italy, where he met with Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and the Pope, BBC reports .
At a press conference after meeting with Meloni, Zelensky invited “all Italian political leaders and representatives of civil society” to Ukraine. This is necessary in order to understand “what one person, Putin, is doing with Ukraine, and why [Ukrainians] are fighting this evil.”
Georgia Meloni stressed that the war will end only when Russia stops its "cruel and unjustified" aggression and Russian troops leave all Ukrainian territories. She also pledged to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes."
In addition, Zelensky met with Pope Francis. According to Vatican Radio, they discussed "the humanitarian and political situation in Ukraine, which is caused by the ongoing war." In addition, the pontiff said that he "prays to the Lord for peace since last February."
The Pope presented Zelensky with a bronze olive branch as a sign of peace and several books. The President of Ukraine presented the Pope with two icons: "Burning", written on a plate of a bulletproof vest, and "Loss", which is dedicated to children killed in the war.
Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Francis for his attention to the tragic fate of millions of Ukrainians and asked him to condemn Russian crimes, since "there can be no equality between the victim and the aggressor."
Pope Francis has often made controversial statements regarding the war in Ukraine. So, a few months after it began, he called Ukraine “the main victim in this war,” but said that it was necessary to understand “the international aspects that contributed to [its] provocation.” The pontiff also called the deceased propagandist Daria Dugin, daughter of Alexander Dugin, "an innocent victim of the war."