Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Pope Francis and praised the pontiff as someone who "knew how to give hope, ease suffering through prayer, and foster unity.
He prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians. We grieve together with Catholics and all Christians who looked to Pope Francis for spiritual support. Eternal memory!"
Millions of people around the world are mourning the tragic news of Pope Francis’s passing. His life was devoted to God, to people, and to the Church.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 21, 2025
He knew how to give hope, ease suffering through prayer, and foster unity. He prayed for peace in Ukraine and for Ukrainians. We… pic.twitter.com/Ww6NtsbWWS
Francis met with Zelenskyy three times, but Ukrainians have mixed feelings about the pope. He condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine strongly, calling it a "negation of God's dream."
"Have respect for human life and stop the macabre destruction of cities and villages in the east of Ukraine," he told the crowd at St. Peter's Square in Rome on June 5, 2022, 100 days into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
However, he angered Ukrainians in 2024 when he told a Swiss broadcaster that Ukraine should have the "courage of the white flag" and negotiate with Russia to end the war. Ukrainians interpreted that as the pontiff asking Kyiv to capitulate to Moscow.
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