This morning, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV received in audience, at the residence of Castel Gandolfo, His Excellency Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, with whom he discussed the ongoing conflict and the urgent need for a just and lasting peace.

During the cordial conversation, the importance of dialogue as the preferred means of ending hostilities was reaffirmed. The Holy Father expressed his sorrow for the victims and renewed his prayers and closeness to the Ukrainian people, encouraging every effort aimed at the release of prisoners and the search for shared solutions.

The Holy Father reiterated the willingness to welcome representatives of Russia and Ukraine to the Vatican for negotiations.