Pope Leo XIV has said that “tragic episodes” are multiplying in Ukraine following his Sunday Angelus on August 9. The Pope renewed his appeal for humanitarian law to be respected and for the targeting of civilians to cease.
The comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared a video showing a Russian drone hunting a street vendor in the Kherson region. The man survived the attack, but sustained multiple shrapnel wounds, a concussion, and trauma. The use of Russian drones against civilians in front-line areas has been referred to as a “human safari”.
The Pope said: “I stand with the families of the victims, the wounded, and all those who are suffering as a result of the ongoing conflict.
“War only breeds more war and causes immense suffering,” Pope Leo stressed. “It is time to stop the spiral of violence and make room for diplomacy and dialogue, paving the way for peace.”
In sharing the video of the attack on the street vendor, President Zelenskyy said: “Every single day, ordinary people in Kherson face these Russian ‘safaris.’ The world must see this. It must see every piece of evidence that Russia has gone mad and that its soldiers take pleasure in killing and abusing civilians.”
On August 5, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, spoke on the day of a Russian missile attack on Ukraine which killed 17 people and injured 44, stating that the regular bombardments cause “deep psychological and physical suffering”. In July there were at least 10 ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, an average of one every three days.
He said: “Due to the intensity of the shelling, you never know where the missiles will fall. I, not having a family, can face this situation with a certain serenity; but when I think of parents, fathers and mothers who do not care so much about themselves as they do about their children, I understand how dramatic this experience really is.”
In July, Secretary for Relations with States Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher visited Ukraine where he met with President Zelenskyy and called for a just peace.
In a similar vein to Pope Leo, he prayed for the return of prisoners of war and the reuniting of families. “Inspire in each one of us the courage and wisdom to become builders of peace,” he said.
Last week, it was reported that Archbishop Gallagher will visit Moscow this month as part of the Vatican’s long-running mission to foster dialogue between Russia and Ukraine.
The visit, which is reportedly planned for August 20, would be the first by the Vatican’s foreign minister since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. Archbishop Gallagher had visited Russia in November 2021 before the invasion, but has been in communication with Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov since.
President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who also visited Ukraine last month and visited Kyiv following a missile attack, has visited Russia following the outbreak of the war. He last visited Moscow in October 2024 in order to examine “prospects for continuing humanitarian collaboration and opening paths towards the much-desired peace”.
