(DailyVantage.com) – Pope Francis confirmed that he was on a secret mission to try to establish peace relations between Russia and Ukraine, according to The Daily Mail. He reportedly said that he vowed to do whatever he could to stop the ongoing war that has entered its 14th month.
During his three-day visit to Hungary, the pontiff said that the mission was still underway, and he cannot get into details about it. But he said that peace was made through “opening channels,” not “closure,” adding that it was “not easy.” The pope has been vocal about his opposition to the war and offering to repatriate Ukrainian children that were taken to Russia. Kyiv claims that around 19,500 children have been illegally deported to Russia and Crimea.
The comments come as Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a series of strikes on the war-torn country and killed 16 people after one of the missiles hit a civilian building, according to Newsmax.
Ukraine alleges that the air force has recently prevented 11 cruise missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles from hitting the ground. But Russia’s latest barrage has struck a nine-story residential building, leaving two 10-year-old children and a toddler dead.
Ukrainian air defense also reportedly destroyed 15 of 18 missiles, but 20 more people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk area. In another attack, Putin allegedly killed a mother and her 2-year-old daughter. But Putin denies ever hitting civilian infrastructure.
Pope Francis has been highly critical of the war and said that everyone wants to be on the “road to peace.” He has expressed his interest in being a broker and mediator between the two countries to negotiate peace. Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal revealed that he had met with the pontiff at the Vatican last week and they deliberated on the “peace formula” proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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