Ukraine PM Invites Pope Francis For A Visit And Help Bring Home Children 'Held, Arrested, Deported' To Russia

Ukraine’s Prime Minister has invited Pope Francis to visit the war-torn country and asked for help in repatriating thousands of children taken to Russia or Russian-occupied land since Moscow’s invasion. 

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal discussed Kyiv’s peace formula to end Russia’s war in Ukraine with the Pope, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea since Moscow invaded last year.

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“I asked his holiness for help in returning home Ukrainian children who are being held, arrested, deported to Russia in a criminal way,” Shmyal reportedly told a news conference in Rome.

Moscow, which controls large parts of Ukraine’s east and south, denies abducting children and says they have been transported away for their own safety.

Why It Matters: Pope Francis, 86, has expressed interest in visiting Kyiv and Moscow on a peace mission. Russia has been conducting a major offensive in eastern Ukraine for months but has failed to make significant territorial gains.

The pontiff has criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He even offered to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate in March, but said that the conflict in Kyiv was driven by "imperial interests, not just of the Russian empire, but of empires from elsewhere."

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