Pope Francis has “begged” Sunday October 2 Russian President Vladimir Putin to“Stop” the “spiral of violence” in Ukraine. It is the first time that he has directly designated the Russian president since the start of the conflict on February 24. Before his Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, the pope also spoke for the first time about the annexations of Ukrainian territories by Moscow, deploring “new actions contrary to the principles of international law”.
“I deeply deplore the serious situation that has arisen in recent days (…) It increases the risk of nuclear escalation, to the point of raising fears of uncontrollable and catastrophic consequences on a global level.”
Pope FrancisSt. Peter’s Square
He also launched “an equally confident appeal to the President of Ukraine [Volodymyr Zelensky] to be open to serious proposals for peace”. “It is distressing that the world learns about the geography of Ukraine through names like Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Izium, Zaporizhya and other localities, which have become places of indescribable suffering and fear”he added.
