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Vatican defends pope's praise of 'great' Russian Empire after fury in Ukraine

The Vatican sought to defend Pope Francis on Tuesday after he sparked fury in Ukraine by praising Russia's imperial rulers — a history President Vladimir Putin has invoked to justify his ongoing war.

The Kremlin delighted in the controversy, which stemmed from comments the pontiff made to a group of young Russian Catholics urging them to see themselves as the heirs of a "great" empire.

"Don’t forget your heritage. You are the descendants of great Russia: the great Russia of saints, rulers, the great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that empire — educated, great culture and great humanity," he told them in St. Petersburg by live video Friday.

"Never give up on this heritage. You are descendants of the great Mother Russia, step forward with it. And thank you — thank you for your way of being, for your way of being Russian."

The pope gave a prepared speech to the event in his native Spanish before switching to Italian for this unscripted aside. The online transcript of the speech does not include these comments, video of which was shared widely online over the weekend.

The pope was strongly criticized by Ukrainian leaders, who said he was repeating Russian nationalist talking points that are used to justify the Kremlin's war. Russian President Vladimir Putin has compared himself to the expansionist Peter the Great and spoken of Ukraine being part of a historic, greater Russia.

"It is precisely with such imperialist propaganda, the 'spiritual ties' and the 'need' to save 'great Mother Russia' that the Kremlin justifies the killing of thousands of Ukrainians and the destruction of Ukrainian cities and villages," Oleg Nikolenko, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, said on Facebook.

The head of Ukraine's Eastern Rite Catholic Church, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, said in a statement that the pope's words had caused "great pain and worry" and feared they could "inspire the neo-colonial ambitions of the aggressor country."

Amid growing pressure, the Vatican said Tuesday that it was “clear” from the context of the pontiff’s comments that they were not designed to praise Russian imperialism.

“The Pope intended to encourage young people to preserve and promote what is positive in Russia’s great cultural and spiritual heritage, and certainly not to extol imperialistic logics and governmental personalities, cited to point to certain historical periods of reference,” spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.

The pope has repeatedly criticized Russia's actions in Ukraine, describing the invaded country as "martyred" while calling for peace throughout the war.

But Francis' latest intervention was warmly received in the Kremlin.

"It is admirable that the pontiff knows Russian history," Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said in his daily press briefing Tuesday.

"It is deep and the legacy is very old, not restricted to Peter I. The entire society and schools work hard to hand over this to young people. The pontiff going along with this effort is really good and makes us glad," he said.

Putin has frequently mentioned Russia's long imperial past in speeches and essays, often in an attempt to justify his contemporary foreign policy goals.

In June last year, Putin compared himself to the 18th-century tsar, Peter the Great, who expanded his nation's borders by seizing Swedish land and several Baltic states, establishing Russia as a major European empire.

Drawing a parallel to his war in Ukraine, Putin said Peter did not take territories from Sweden and others but "returned" them to their natural place in the wider Russian Empire.

Catherine II, better known as Catherine the Great, annexed Crimea in 1783.

Days before his forces annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, Putin told an audience that "Kyiv is the mother of Russian cities," arguing that Russia and Ukraine were historically inseparable.

He returned to this theme in a lengthy article prior to his full-scale invasion in 2021, declaring that "Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians are all descendants of Ancient Rus, which was the largest state in Europe."

Ukrainians and many Western analysts have rejected this reading of history.

Olivia Durand, an expert in Russian colonial history and a visiting fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin, told NBC News it was "regrettable" that the pope was repeating the language of great Russian chauvinism, a religious ideology with strong imperialist overtones which saw Moscow as the protector of the "true" Orthodox faith after the fall of the previous centers of Christianity.

"This speech is understandably an upsetting one for people in Ukraine and beyond — it feels tone deaf and unaware of the deeper history of religious politicization ... during the successive ages of Muscovy, the Russian Empire, the USSR and today’s Russian Federation," she said.

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

Pope Francis’ secret Ukraine-Russia peace mission, explained

There are “new, but of course, confidential” developments in the Holy See’s mission to stop the war between Russia and Ukraine. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, broke the news of the “new” developments when he spoke to journalists at the Lateran University in Rome May 10, but he did not elaborate further. However, he added significantly, “I believe the peace mission will move forward.”

Pope Francis first revealed that a mission aimed at stopping the war between Russia and Ukraine “is underway” on April 30. In the following days, spokespersons for both Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky said their respective sides knew nothing about such a mission. Cardinal Parolin, the pope’s right-hand man, challenged these denials on April 3 and said both sides were informed.

So, what is happening? Is there a peace mission? Why would Kyiv and Moscow deny any knowledge of it? What can we expect to happen next?

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Pope Francis has looked for ways to stop the war. To achieve that goal and serve as a mediator, he has sought to avoid taking sides. Nevertheless, he has stated clearly that Russia is the aggressor and several times a week speaks of “martyred Ukraine.” He has spoken out against the more than 430 days’ war on no less than 120 occasions, in speeches, homilies, press conferences and interviews.  

Pope Francis’ relationship with President Zelensky

Since the war started, Pope Francis has spoken twice by phone (Feb. 26 and March 22) with President Zelensky, whom he had met face to face in the Vatican on Feb. 8, 2020. Moreover, he has received the Ukrainian prime minister and many parliamentarians in private audiences since the Russian invasion and has also met the wives of Ukrainian soldiers whose husbands were prisoners of war, and many refugees, including children.

The Holy See has had a nuncio, an ambassador, in Kyiv, the Lithuanian-born Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, who has been there throughout the war and reports regularly on the situation to the pope and the Vatican.

Francis has had the Vatican engage in humanitarian initiatives during the war. He sent the Polish-born Cardinal Konrad Krajewski on several missions to Ukraine with various forms of humanitarian aid, including ambulances and thermal shirts. Francis has also been involved in the exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine. Delegates from President Zelenskyy have brought the pope lists of names on at least five occasions, and he passed them onto the Russian authorities; many hundreds of prisoners have been released on both sides.

On the eve of his visit to Budapest, April 27, the Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, visited Francis in the Vatican and asked him to facilitate the return of thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russia during the war. The pope promised to do everything possible in this regard.

These humanitarian efforts have been like stars in the dark night of war.

Pope Francis’ relationship with Vladimir Putin

Ever since the war started, Pope Francis has tried to make direct contact with President Putin, but so far without success. On the second day of the war, casting aside protocol, Francis visited the Russian embassy to the Holy See and asked the ambassador to convey a message to President Putin, saying he was willing to go to Moscow to speak with him, but the Russian leader has refused to have any direct contact with the pope since he launched the invasion. Instead, he had his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, respond to Francis saying his involvement was “not necessary.”  

A follow-up phone call on the pope’s behalf on March 8, 2022, by Cardinal Parolin to Mr. Lavrov, repeating Francis’ call for a stop to the fighting, was equally unsuccessful. 

Speaking to journalists Sept. 15, 2022, after his visit to Kazakhstan, Pope Francis, responding to criticisms for not calling out Putin, emphasized the need for dialogue, even if it means engaging “with states that have started a war.”

Pope Francis: “I don’t exclude dialogue with any sort of power that is at war, even if it is with the aggressor. It may ​​‘smell,’ but one has to do it."

He said, “I don’t exclude dialogue with any sort of power that is at war, even if it is with the aggressor. It may ​​‘smell,’ but one has to do it. But we must always be one step ahead, with an outstretched hand, always! Otherwise, we close the only reasonable door to peace.”

Returning from Budapest last month, Francis sought to explain his efforts to keep dialogue open. “I believe that peace is always made by opening channels; peace can never be made by closure. I invite everyone to open relationships, channels of friendship. ... This is not easy,” he said. 

He said he had told this to various people, including Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, whom he met in Budapest and who is the only leader of the European Union’s 27 states who is an ally of President Putin. Mr. Orbán refuses to allow arms to be transported to Ukraine across the 85-mile border between the two countries, and claims that he and Francis are the only leaders working for peace.

How Francis communicates with Russia

While Francis has been able to communicate directly and indirectly with President Zelensky since the war started, the same is not true with President Putin, whom he has met face to face three times (2013, 2015, 2019). They last spoke together when Putin phoned to wish him 85th birthday greetings in Dec. 2021. Since then, Francis said, his main line of communication has been through the Russian ambassador to the Holy See, Aleksandr Avdeyev. On the flight from Budapest, he said: “I have a good relationship with the ambassador who is now leaving; he has been the ambassador in the Vatican for seven years, he is a great man, a man comme il faut , a serious, cultured, and balanced person. My relationship with the Russians is mainly with this ambassador.”

The pope has communicated with the Kremlin also through Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, who met the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, during the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Sept. 22, 2022. 

Moreover, the Vatican has a nuncio in Moscow, the Italian Archbishop Giovanni d’Aniello, who has been there throughout the war and is able to report back to Rome.

Besides the formal diplomatic channels, Francis also tries to make use of non-diplomatic ones to communicate with the Russian leadership, and especially Russian Orthodox church officials, even though most of them, like Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, are subservient to Putin. Only a small number of Orthodox priests have opposed the war and are reportedly now in prison. 

Besides the formal diplomatic channels, Francis also tries to make use of non-diplomatic ones to communicate with the Russian leadership.

On March 16, 2022, Francis had a 40-minute conversation by Zoom with Kirill. An outspoken supporter of the war, the patriarch sought to defend the “special military operation” but Francis called on him to be a pastor, not “the acolyte of the state.” The pope’s remark upset Kirill, according to informed sources; they have not spoken directly to each other since. They were scheduled to have a face-to-face meeting in Jerusalem in June 2021, but Francis canceled that because of the war.

Since their Zoom conversation, Francis has communicated with Kirill through the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, first Metropolitan Hilarion and, since June 2022, through his successor, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk. 

Anthony visited the pope in the Vatican on August 5, 2022, and discussed Orthodox-Catholic relations in the context “of political processes taking place in the world.” Soon after, he let it be known that Kirill would not attend the Congress of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan (Sept. 13-15) where Francis was scheduled to speak and where some had expected the patriarch and pope to have a face-to-face meeting. 

On the plane from Budapest, Francis affirmed that the meeting with the patriarch “will happen” but gave no indication as to when that might be. Vatican sources, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak, told America that Francis is unlikely to meet Kirill until the war has ended.

Vatican sources, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak, told America that Francis is unlikely to meet Kirill until the war has ended.

In Budapest, Pope Francis received Metropolitan Hilarion in a 20-minute private audience. Hilarion had been Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate from 2009 to 2022 when he was demoted and reassigned to Budapest in June 2022, allegedly for his opposition to the war. Hilarion was succeeded by Antony. Francis has known Hilarion since 2013, they have met many times and on the plane he said: “Hilarion is someone I respect very much, and we have always had a good relationship. And he was kind enough to come and see me [in Budapest], then he came to the Mass, and I saw him here at the airport as well. Hilarion is an intelligent person with whom one can talk, and these relationships need to be maintained, because if we talk about ecumenism—I like this, I don't like this—we must have an outstretched hand with everyone, even receive their hand.” 

Asked if he had talked about peace with Orbán and Hilarion, Francis said, in the meeting “We talked about all these things. We talked about this because everyone is interested in the road to peace. I am willing. I am willing to do whatever needs to be done. Also, there is a mission going on now, but it is not public yet. Let's see how....When it is public I will talk about it.”

Hilarion’s position is delicate, and in response to speculation in the media, he made clear on his website portal “there was nothing [at the meeting with Francis] concerning bilateral relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. No political issues were discussed. The meeting was of a personal nature between two old friends.”

After Francis’ return to the Vatican, Metropolitan Anthony arrived in Rome (May 1-4) “with Patriarch Kirill’s blessing.” His visit, however, was for private business that was in no way related to the pope’s peace mission, Vatican sources told America . He met Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches, and greeted Pope Francis for a few minutes at the end of the Wednesday public audience in St. Peter’s Square. He also visited Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity, whom he has known for many years, but did not meet Cardinal Kurt Koch, the prefect of the dicastery, who was in Israel at that time.

Anthony’s presence in Rome and his greeting the pope sparked inevitable speculation in the media that it was linked to the peace mission, but Cardinal Parolin categorically denied this on the day of the audience saying, “It had nothing to do with this!”

Russia and Ukraine knew about Francis’ peace initiative

At the same time, Cardinal Parolin expressed surprise that spokespersons for the presidents of Ukraine and Russia claimed ignorance of the pope’s peace mission. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters May 2 that Moscow had no information about the initiative. CNN reported that an unnamed Ukrainian official close to the presidential office said: “President Zelensky has not consented to any such discussions on Ukraine’s behalf. If talks are happening, they are happening without our knowledge or our blessing.”

”I know that both parties have been informed,” Cardinal Parolin said May 3 , “to my knowledge, they were and are aware.” He added, “As far as I know, they know.”

The cardinal’s next remark, however, appeared to suggest that the pope’s first aim is to get both sides to agree to a ceasefire, before the peace process could start. ”I don't know if there are the conditions today for a ceasefire. Let's hope.... I believe that this initiative—if there will be one—by the Vatican should also go in that direction,” the cardinal said. Vatican Media reported that the cardinal went on to add that the hope is that a cessation of fighting might take place and that a peace process could follow.

On May 4, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency, offered a more nuanced response to his original denial: “We know that the Pope is constantly thinking about peace and how to end this conflict, but we are not aware of any detailed plan proposed by the Vatican.” 

“While Putin is not open to direct communication with the pope right now, the calculation here is that he may be more ready for this in some months’ if the war is not going his way.”

That both Russia and Ukraine would issue denials of a peace mission is to a certain degree comprehensible, as neither side wants to stop fighting at this moment. Ukraine wants to regain its lost territory before considering a peace plan and is about to launch a major military offensive to achieve that goal. Russia, for its part, wants to defend all the territory it has taken since 2014 and, if possible, make further gains. To say one is ready to discuss a ceasefire, much less a peace plan, would be equivalent to a sign of weakness on the Ukrainian part and would leave Russia in a stronger position since it holds Ukrainian territory. The Russians, too, do not want a ceasefire; they need to make further gains if they are to consolidate what they have already captured.

Sources told America that Francis wants to bring about a ceasefire as soon as possible, to stop the killing and destruction, before moving into the more problematic area of peace negotiations. One Vatican source said, “While Putin is not open to direct communication with the pope right now, the calculation here is that he may be more ready for this in some months if the war is not going his way.”

Some in Rome think Pope Francis may have in mind the all-out effort made by John Paul II in 2003 to prevent the war in Iraq. That year, the Polish pope sent the French Cardinal Roger Etchegeray to Baghdad to speak with Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi leader received him on February 15 and engaged in a conversation that appeared to offer a glimmer of hope for a last-minute way out of the crisis. Two weeks later, John Paul II dispatched the Italian Cardinal Pio Laghi, a friend of the Bush family, to Washington, D.C., to speak with President George W. Bush. When they met in the Oval Office on March 5, the cardinal handed Mr. Bush a personal letter from the pope, but the president put it on the table without opening it and went on to inform the cardinal that he believed he was “doing God’s will” by launching the war. President Bush’s mind was closed to mediation, and the negative consequences of his decision are still with us today, as Francis saw when he visited the country March 5-8, 2021.  

The situation facing Francis is, of course, totally different from the one that faced John Paul II 20 years ago. President Putin has already launched the war and today, more than 430 days later, shows no intention of ending it. Nor does he show any sign of being open to a ceasefire proposal from Francis any more than President Bush was to John Paul II’s effort to prevent the war. 

Pope Francis believes in the power of prayer, knowing that nothing is impossible for God. He believes “it is not impossible” for him to get to Moscow, as he told La Nación on March 10. He knows it is a steep, uphill task to get both sides to agree to a ceasefire, but he feels it is his moral duty to try, and also to seek to engage other heads of state and of international organizations in this effort.

Gerard O’Connell is America ’s Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History . He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.

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Pope: peace between Russia and Ukraine is possible, don’t forget the poor

By Lisa Zengarini

Peace between Russia and Ukraine “is still possible” and the Holy See is willing do everything it can to put an end to the armed conflict. Pope Francis reiterated this hope in a wide-ranging interview granted to Domenico Agasso of the Italian newspaper 'La Stampa' in which he also  speaks about his upcoming visit to Asti, in the Piedmont Region, and reflects on his nearly ten-year pontificate.

The absurdity of war

In the interview published on Friday, Pope Francis insists on the absurdity of war, noting that humanity has not learned the lessons of the previous two World Wars. “Knowing that behind all these tragedies there are hunger for power and arms trafficking raises anger and sadness”, he said.

“Three world wars in one century! And we won’t learn!”

The Holy See's efforts for a lasting peace

Asked about the Vatican’s diplomatic efforts to bring about a ceasefire and peace negotiations, Pope Francis said the Holy See constantly follows the situation and “is willing to do everything possible to mediate and put an end to the conflict", while it continues to offer humanitarian relief to suffering Ukrainians and support to prisoners of war.

The Pope said he has not given up hope on a lasting peace and reconciliation between Moscow and Kyiv. However, he stressed  “everyone must commit themselves to demilitarize their hearts, starting from their own, and then to defuse and disarm violence”.

“We must all be pacifists, wanting peace, not just a truce that maybe only serves to rearm, but a true peace, which is the fruit of dialogue. Peace is not achieved with weapons, because they don't defeat hatred and the thirst for domination, which will re-emerge, perhaps in other ways.”

The dangers of nationalism

Referring to the global phenomenon of resurging nationalism and populism, Pope Francis also warned again on the dangers of all "-isms", because, he said “they hypocritically sow social and political wickedness". 

The visit to Asti

In the interview, the Holy Father  also spoke about his upcoming visit to the city of Asti, in Northern Italy, where his parents came from. During the visit, which will take place from 19-20 November, he will meet up privately with his relatives for the occasion of his cousin’s 90th birthday, and will celebrate Mass for the diocesan community.

The Pope said he is still very close to his family of origin and has strong affective ties with Piedmont, thanks to his grandmother Rosa, who also taught him poems of local poet Nino Costa in the Piedmontese dialect, which he still cherishes.

Family roots

In this regard he once again emphasized the importance of family roots, saying they are fundamental both from a cultural and a familiar point of view. As he has repeated on many occasions, the Pope insisted that young people should always talk to their grandparents as much as possible

“It is essential to keep the relationship with our roots alive, for our cultural and social growth, and also for the development of our personality”

Pope Francis also repeated that young people should continue to dream, even in the face of a gloomy and uncertain future like today .

Addressing the "scandal" of hunger

Asked about his favourite Piedmontese dish, Pope Francis also highlighted the urgent need to  address the “scandal” of hunger, affecting millions of people and children across the world: “This – he said - must be a priority for everyone: for those lucky enough to have food in their daily lives must not waste it by teaching it to children as well; and the international community that is called to work to truly eliminate hunger which is a disgrace as well as a crime".

I have always been happy in the places where the Lord has sent me

Pope Francis was further asked about his thoughts on his pontificate as he approaches  the tenth anniversary of his election in 2023. “Thanks to my vocation, I have always been happy in the places where the Lord has placed and sent me”, he answered. “But not because ‘I won something’, I won nothing... this is a service, and the Church asked me for it”.

The Holy Father further highlighted  the importance for him of the Ignatian practice of daily examination of conscience, which helps us understand our good and bad deeds, and of listening to people, especially the "little ones": children, the elderly and the poor.

As he approaches his 86th birthday in December, Pope Francis said that at his age he “feels tranquility, great peace, genuine joy, and religiosity.” On a personal note, he said he finds God in prayer, in celebrating the Eucharist and in all the people he meets.

Not forgetting the poor

During the interview Pope Francis was also asked about the upcoming official visit to the Vatican of the new Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the first female PM of Italy. While reiterating that he doesn’t interfere in specific Italian political issues, and that the new government was voted by the people, the Pope said he asks leaders of all countries not to forget the poor.  

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Pope makes surprise visit to Russian Embassy to the Vatican

The visit came as a surprise as it did not follow typical protocol.

The Vatican press office confirmed that Pope Francis made a visit to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See to express his concern about the fighting in Ukraine on Friday morning.

The Russian Embassy to the Holy See is a short distance outside of Vatican City situated on the road leading into St. Peter's Square, and this was seen by most as a strong personal papal initiative.

Aside from saying the visit lasted just over an hour, the Vatican provided no further information nor distributed any video or photographs. The pope was seen leaving the embassy building seated in the front seat of a small, white car.

MORE: Russia-Ukraine live updates

Ambassador Aleksandr Avdeyev, the Russian diplomat at the embassy, told Russian media that "the pope personally wanted to ask about the situation in Donbas and Ukraine" and expressed his great concern about the humanitarian situation and conditions of the population. He reportedly urged for the care of children, the sick and the people who were suffering.

The pope's surprise and unprecedented visit to the embassy took many Vatican watchers by surprise, as it is normal protocol for ambassadors to come to the Vatican to meet with the pope. However, Pope Francis has in the past dropped in to see people in Vatican offices outside the walls of the tiny state when he has urgent matters he wishes to discuss.

On Thursday, Cardinal Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, said in a video statement released after the start of Russian military operations in Ukraine that although the tragic scenarios everyone feared were becoming reality "there is still time for goodwill, there is still room for negotiation." He said he hoped those who hold the destiny of the world in their hands would have a "glimmer of conscience."

Commentators have noted that the pope and the Vatican have been careful about publicly criticizing and naming Russia, some say, so as not to antagonize the Russian Orthodox Church.

On Wednesday at the end of his general audience in the Vatican, Pope Francis called on believers and nonbelievers to pray and fast for peace in Ukraine on Ash Wednesday to combat the "diabolical insistence, the diabolical senselessness of violence," saying that "once again the peace of all is threatened by partisan interests."

MORE: Questions about the Ukraine-Russia conflict, answered

He appealed to those with political responsibilities to do a serious examination of conscience before God and urged world leaders to "refrain from any action that would cause even more suffering to the people, destabilizing the coexistence between nations and discrediting international law."

Earlier Friday, the Vatican press office announced the pope would not make his scheduled one-day trip to Florence Sunday and would have to skip the Ash Wednesday ceremony in the Vatican at the start of Lent due to a flare up of knee pain. His doctors have told him he needs a longer period of rest, but that did not seem to stop him making Friday's surprise visit.

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Pope francis breaks diplomatic protocol and visits russian embassy.

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Pope Francis on Friday visited the Russian Embassy in Rome in a gesture that broke diplomatic protocol, to convey his concerns over the conflict in Ukraine. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope spent more than 30 minutes at the embassy. Russian Ambassador Alexander Avdeev told a state-run media outlet that the pope had “wanted to personally ask about the situation in Donbas and Ukraine.” Bruni did not specify what Francis said to the Kremlin official but said, “He went to express his concern over the war.” Bruni declined comment to a number of media outlets including when asked whether the pope had visited or would visit Ukraine’s embassy.

Under diplomatic protocol, the Vatican foreign minister would have summoned the ambassador to the Vatican. However, this time the pope traveled to the embassy despite having “acute knee pain,” which has forced him to cancel two engagements for next week.

Francis has previously called for an end to the conflict and urged Christians to take next Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine. On Wednesday he called for political leaders to examine their conscience before God and to refrain from actions that harm civilians and “discredit international law.” However, he refrained from naming Russia or its president, Vladimir Putin.

On Thursday, the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, reiterated the pope’s previous appeals for peace in Ukraine, adding that Francis’s words had “acquired a dramatic urgency after the start of Russian military operations on Ukrainian territory.”

Where are Russian forces attacking Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out.

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In Visit to Tiny Flock in Mongolia, Pope Has an Eye on Russia and China

The pontiff arrived Friday on a trip that the Vatican said was meant to encourage the fewer than 1,500 Catholics there. But it also brings him close to two great powers that have vexed him.

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By Jason Horowitz

Reporting from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Pope Francis has long expressed a desire to visit Russia and China in hopes of healing the church’s historical rifts and ensuring the faith’s future in the populous East. On Friday, he came very close, landing in Mongolia, a country sandwiched between the two geopolitical giants, with a minuscule Catholic population that no pope has visited before.

“The inhabitants are few,” Francis acknowledged in brief remarks on the plane to Mongolia. But the country, which at times seems so vast as not to end, is also a place where the “culture is great,” he said.

On Sunday, he called the trip a “much-desired visit which will be an opportunity to embrace a church that is small in number, but vibrant in faith and great in charity.”

But many observers in and out of the church are wondering why Francis, who is 86 and often uses a wheelchair, traveled more than 5,000 miles to visit fewer than 1,500 Catholics, in a geographically vast nation where a good chunk of the largely nomadic population of 3.3 million knows very little about him, according to a pollster.

The answer, the Vatican has said, is that Mongolia, like other far-flung places Francis has visited, speaks to his priorities for the direction he wants to take the church, and his mission to improve cooperation and dialogue among the world’s religions. Francis also has ambitions to be heard on the secular stage, and by two world powers with which he has rocky relations, at a time of great upheaval.

The Vatican says the principal reason for the visit is to encourage the tiny community of Catholics, in keeping with his emphasis on drawing attention to the church’s peripheries.

More than 40 percent of Mongolians say they have no religious identity, according to census data . Of those who say they are religious, some 87 percent say they are Buddhist. About 5 percent are Muslim, 4 percent identify as adherents of shamanism and barely 2 percent are Christians.

Last year, Francis stunned many in the Vatican by elevating an Italian missionary in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, who has been in Mongolia for decades, to the exalted status of cardinal, and gave him a coveted spot in the Vatican’s powerful office for evangelization.

“It has been a gradual and slow growth,” the cardinal, Giorgio Marengo, 49, said, describing his experience in Mongolia. It has not, he said, been “very sudden or significant in a way in terms of numbers, but a constant little growth.”

But the numbers are still exceptionally small, and as a result, there appears to be less than the usual buzz over a papal visit.

“Nobody actually is talking about the pope,” said Sumati Luvsandendev, a leading Mongolian political analyst and opinion pollster.

Beyond meeting members of the small Mongolian church, Francis will also use a gathering with representatives from Mongolia’s mix of faiths to further his mission of interreligious tolerance.

Ulaanbaatar, which is heavily polluted and increasingly crowded because of internal displacement, will provide an opportunity for him to touch on the themes of migration and the environment that are core to his pontificate.

Mongolia’s suffering from climate change, exploitation by mining interests and even overproduction of cashmere by pasture-decimating goats will allow him to amplify his cry to protect the environment, in a nation where eagles and horses are core to the national identity, and where livestock outnumber people by about 20 to one.

The four-day visit to what Francis called the “heart of Asia” began at Chinggis Khaan International Airport, where he received a welcome gift of dried yogurt instead of the customary gift horse — sometimes symbolic, sometimes real — given to visiting dignitaries. He was met on the tarmac by soldiers in red and blue uniforms and gold helmets, then wheeled into a Hyundai flying a Vatican flag, which took him to the residence of the head of the local church, where he will stay.

The pope’s visit will include meetings with Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai and other authorities, Catholic charity groups and local clergy. But it also brings Francis close to the two neighboring leaders, President Vladimir V. Putin in Russia and President Xi Jinping in China, who have vexed his ambitions in and out of the church.

In 2018, Francis, seeking more access to China, made a largely secretive deal with the government to ensure more collaboration over the nomination of bishops. The pope typically appoints bishops, but the Communist government has long insisted on naming its own to more closely control the state-run church there.

Conservatives and advocates for human rights protested the Vatican’s decision to acknowledge some of those bishops and, they say, legitimize the practice — though the deal, designed to narrow the divide between the state- and Rome-led churches, recognized Francis as the leader of the church and gave him an important role in the process.

Some accused the pontiff of selling out religious liberty and China’s long-suffering underground church, which does not recognize the state-appointed bishops. But the Vatican argued that the deal was worth it given the longer-term goal of more dialogue and a greater church presence in China.

Since then, China has only strained relations by continuing to crack down on religious minorities, and it has consistently violated the spirit of the agreement by unilaterally appointing bishops. It is unclear whether Chinese Catholics will cross the border with Mongolia to hear or even meet the pope during the visit.

Some experts suggest that the Vatican hopes that Mongolia, because of its location and close economic and political ties to China, could act as an intermediary to improve relations. In his flight to Mongolia, Francis passed over Chinese airspace, allowing him to send a customary telegram of greetings to Mr. Xi, a rare direct communication between them.

Mongolia’s neighbor to the north, Russia, has proved even more nettlesome. At the beginning of his pontificate, Francis pursued steps to reconcile a more than 1,000-year schism between the Eastern and Western church by meeting in Cuba with Patriarch Kirill I, the leader of the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church.

But Russia’s war in Ukraine has blown up that effort, and vexed Francis, who has chastised Kirill as being the “altar boy” of Mr. Putin.

Francis’ lingering ambitions to keep the dream of reconciliation alive, experts say, has led to some awkward moments of softening and kind words for Russia. The latest came in recent days, when in comments made by video to Catholic youth in St. Petersburg, Francis praised 18th century Russian rulers and the Great Russia they helped create — an empire that Mr. Putin has invoked in framing his invasion of Ukraine.

“Never forget the legacy,” Francis said. “You are the heirs of Great Russia: Great Russia of saints, rulers, Great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that empire — great, enlightened, of great culture and great humanity.”

The Vatican did not publish those remarks, which were off the cuff, but they were heard in a clip circulated by religious agencies and Russian news media. They prompted criticism from Ukrainians, who have long been frustrated by the pope’s efforts to maintain a sort of neutrality in the hopes of playing an eventual role in a peace deal, an ambition geopolitical experts say is a fantasy.

Pope Francis did not intend to “glorify imperialistic logic,” the Vatican said on Tuesday.

Many Mongolians still feel culturally close to Russia after 70 years of Soviet-influenced communist rule that suppressed religion. The country opened up after the fall of Communism, established relations with the Vatican in 1992 and enshrined religious freedom in its Constitution.

But while Mongolia’s neighbors perhaps increased the resonance of the pope’s trip, the Vatican on Tuesday made it clear, when asked about possible meetings with the Chinese or Russians while there, that the focus was on Mongolia.

“The trip is Mongolia,” said Matteo Bruni, the pope’s spokesman. “Pope Francis will go principally to talk to them.”

But the world’s powers were clearly on his mind. When a reporter on the flight who showed him a Ukrainian soldier’s canteen, apparently perforated with shrapnel, asked if diplomacy was hard, Francis said, “Yes, you can’t imagine how hard it is,” and added, “And at times it takes a sense of humor.”

A photo caption with an earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to nuns praying in a church. The nuns were attending Mass, not saying Mass.

How we handle corrections

Jason Horowitz is the Rome bureau chief, covering Italy, the Vatican, Greece and other parts of Southern Europe. He previously covered the 2016 presidential campaign, the Obama administration and Congress, with an emphasis on political profiles and features. More about Jason Horowitz

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Child seriously hurt as number of dead rises after airstrike in Odesa seaside park

The Ukrainian authorities say the number of victims from a Russian airstrike in Odesa has risen, with many more injured. Listen to a Daily podcast on whether the UK should send troops to Ukraine as you scroll.

Tuesday 30 April 2024 11:19, UK

• Number of victims from Odesa attack rises to five, with child badly hurt
• Watch: Massive building in flames after attack
• Explained : Why is Chasiv Yar the next target for Russia?
• Your questions answered: Will Ukraine launch another spring offensive?
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Live events elsewhere mean we are leaving our coverage of the Ukraine war there for the day. 

The main development this morning was the rise in the number of people killed in a Russian strike on Odesa yesterday to five.

Read more details in our posts below - and we'll be back with rolling updates and analysis of the war soon.

At least two people have been killed in another Russian strike, this time targeting the northeastern city of Kharkiv, local officials say.

Six more have been wounded in the attack, which Governor Oleh Synehubov says was carried out using guided bombs, according to preliminary information.

The attack damaged a residential building in one of the city districts, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. 

Emergency services are on the scene, local officials say.

Yesterday, a woman was reportedly injured after a "series of explosions" hit the city, according to the mayor.

Russia denies targeting civilians in the war that is now in its third year.

As we reported yesterday, a Russian missile attack targeted an educational institution in a popular seafront park in the Black Sea port of Odesa.

The number of victims from that airstrike has risen, with five people now reported to have died. 

Local officials had initially said four were killed.

Regional governor Oleh Kiper said in addition to those killed in the attack, one man died after suffering a stroke attributed to the strike.

Another 32 are said to be injured, eight of whom seriously - including a four-year-old child.

A pregnant woman and another child are also among the injured.

"Monsters, beasts, savages, scum, I don't know what else to say," Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said.

"People are going for a walk by the sea and they are shooting and killing."

Video footage, which could not be immediately verified, showed people receiving treatment on the street alongside pools of blood. 

One photo showed officials examining part of a missile.

Ukrainian navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said the strike was conducted by an Iskander-M ballistic missile with a cluster warhead.

Odesa has been a frequent target of Russian missile and drone attacks, particular port infrastructure.

Hello and welcome back to our coverage of the war in Ukraine. 

Yesterday a Russian attack on the port city of Odesa killed at least four people, while dramatic footage showed a massive education facility ablaze in the aftermath. 

Here are the other key events to get you up to speed on from the past 24 hours:

• More than 30 Ukrainian conscripts have died while trying to cross the border illegally to avoid mobilisation, a Ukrainian official said;
• The Duchess of Edinburgh met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine, in what marks the first visit to the country by a member of the Royal Family since the war begin;
• Debris recovered from a missile that landed in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv on 2 January was North Korean, according to the United Nations;
• NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg visited Kyiv for a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy;
• In a joint news conference, Mr Stoltenberg said NATO allies had "not delivered" on their military aid pledges to Ukraine in recent months, saying that "serious delays" had led to negative consequences on the battlefield;
• Mr Zelenskyy also called for the delivery of Western weapons to Kyiv's troops to be sped up;
• Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces have taken control of the village of Semenivka in the eastern Donetsk region;
• European Council president Charles Michel said the Russian invasion of Ukraine has given "new impetus" to calls for the EU to be enlarged beyond the 27 members;
• Germany's public prosecutor's office said it was assessing whether a political motive was behind the killing of two Ukrainian soldiers in Murnau.

As we reported a short time ago, the Duchess of Edinburgh has met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine, in what marks the first visit to the country by a member of the Royal Family since the war begin.

Sophie met the Ukrainian president and first lady Olena Zelenska and delivered a message to them on behalf of the King, Buckingham Palace said.

You can watch footage from her trip here...

Throughout the day, we've been reporting on a Russian attack on the city of Odesa in Ukraine, which has killed at least four people. 

These images show a burning educational institution building, which was struck. 

Airline Finnair has said it is pausing flights to Tartu in eastern Estonia for the next month, due to GPS disturbances in the area.

"Finnair will suspend its daily flights to Tartu, Estonia, from 29 April to 31 May, so that an alternative approach solution that does not require a GPS signal can be put in place at Tartu Airport," the Finnish airline said in a statement.

Finnair last week had to divert two flights back to Helsinki after GPS interference prevented the approach to Tartu airport, although a spokesperson said the company did not now where the interference came from.

However, Tallinn seems certain as where the issues are originating. 

"It is a fact that Russia affects GPS devices in our region’s airspace," Estonia's foreign minister said via a spokesperson.

Margus Tsahkna added that Estonia will raise the issue of GPS interference with its neighbours, and intends to discuss it with the EU and NATO. 

GPS jamming and spoofing have grown worse in eastern Europe, the Black Sea and the Middle East, all areas close to conflict zones, according to industry group OpsGroup. 

More than 30 Ukrainian conscripts have died while trying to cross the border illegally to avoid mobilisation, a Ukrainian official has said.

Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service,  told Ukrinform that some men are prepared to pay "large sums" of money to groups promising to smuggle them across the border safely.

"Then they are faced with the fact that the route runs along a mountain river," he said.

Many conscripts have lost their lives after realising they didn't have the strength to swim the river, Mr Demchenko added.

"In total, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, about 30 people have died trying to cross the border illegally," he said.

Such attempts occur "every day", he said.

For context: Ukraine has been under martial law since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

It lets draft officers call up men of a certain age to fight on the front line.

In April, Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed off a new law lowering the age of draft-eligible men from 27 to 25, in a bid to boost troop numbers in his depleted ranks.

The Duchess of Edinburgh has met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine, in what marks the first visit to the country by a member of the Royal Family since the war begin.

Her visit is aimed at demonstrating "solidarity with the women, men and children impacted by the war and in a continuation of her work to champion survivors of conflict-related sexual violence", the palace said.

Three women and a man have died after a Russian attack on Odesa.

A further 28 people have been injured, including two children aged five and 16. A pregnant woman has also been hurt.

This video shows the aftermath of the attack. 

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Pope Francis visits Venice in first trip outside of Rome in seven months

April 28, 2024 / 3:18 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Pope Francis made his first trip out of Rome in seven months on Sunday with a visit to Venice that included an art exhibition, a stop at a prison and a Mass.

Venice has always been a place of contrasts, of breathtaking beauty and devastating fragility, where history, religion, art and nature have collided over the centuries to produce an otherworldly gem of a city. But even for a place that prides itself on its culture of unusual encounters, Francis' visit on Sunday stood out.

Francis traveled to the lagoon city to visit the Holy See's pavilion at the Biennale contemporary art show and meet with the people who created it. But because the Vatican decided to mount its exhibit in Venice's women's prison, and invited inmates to collaborate with the artists, the whole project assumed a far more complex meaning, touching on Francis' belief in the power of art to uplift and unite, and of the need to give hope and solidarity to society's most marginalized.

His trip began at the courtyard of the Giudecca prison, where he met with women inmates one by one.

"Paradoxically, a stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," Francis told them.

The 87-year-old pontiff then met with Biennale artists in the prison chapel, decorated with an installation by Brazilian visual artist Sonia Gomes of objects dangling from the ceiling, meant to draw the viewer's gaze upward.

The Vatican exhibit has turned the Giudecca prison, a former convent for reformed prostitutes, into one of the must-see attractions of this year's Biennale, even though to see it visitors must reserve in advance and go through a security check. It has become an unusual art world darling that greets visitors at the entrance with Maurizio Cattelan's wall mural of  two giant filthy feet , a work that recalls Caravaggio's dirty feet or the feet that Francis washes each year in a Holy Thursday ritual that he routinely performs on prisoners.

The exhibit also includes a short film starring the inmates and Zoe Saldana, and prints in the prison coffee shop by onetime Catholic nun and American social activist Corita Kent.

Francis' dizzying morning visit, which ended with Mass in St. Mark's Square, represented an increasingly rare outing for the 87-year-old pontiff, who has been hobbled by health and mobility problems that have ruled out any foreign trips so far this year.

"Venice, which has always been a place of encounter and cultural exchange, is called to be a sign of beauty available to all," Francis said. "Starting with the least, a sign of fraternity and care for our common home."

During an encounter with young people at the iconic Santa Maria della Salute basilica, Francis acknowledged the miracle that is Venice, admiring its "enchanting beauty" and tradition as a place of East-West encounter, but warning that it is increasingly vulnerable to climate change and depopulation.

"Venice is at one with the waters upon which it sits," Francis said. "Without the care and safeguarding of this natural environment, it might even cease to exist."

in the exhibit as tour guides and as protagonists in some of the artworks.

Ahead of his trip, Francis sat down with "CBS Evening News" anchor and managing editor Norah O'Donnell during an hourlong interview at the guest house where he lives in Rome. 

During the interview, Francis pleaded for peace worldwide amid the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza .

"Please. Countries at war, all of them, stop the war. Look to negotiate. Look for peace," said the pope, speaking through a translator.

He also had a message for those who do not see a place for themselves in the Catholic Church anymore. 

"I would say that there is always a place, always. If in this parish the priest doesn't seem welcoming, I understand, but go and look elsewhere, there is always a place," he said. "Do not run away from the Church. The Church is very big. It's more than a temple ... you shouldn't run away from her."

The pope's Venice trip was the first of four planned inside Italy in the next three months, Reuters reported. He is scheduled to visit Verona in May and Trieste in July, and is expected to attend the June summit of Group of Seven (G7) leaders in Bari.

In September, he is also set to embark on the longest foreign trip of his papacy, traveling to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

An extended version of O'Donnell's interview with Pope Francis will air on "60 Minutes" on Sunday, May 19 at 7 p.m. ET. On Monday, May 20, CBS will broadcast an hourlong primetime special dedicated to the papal interview at 10 p.m. ET on the CBS Television Network and streaming on  Paramount+ . Additionally, CBS News and Stations will carry O'Donnell's interview across platforms. 

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• Catholic Church

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Duchess of Edinburgh Becomes First British Royal to Visit Ukraine Since Russia’s Invasion

S ophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, became the first member of the British royal family to visit Ukraine since Russia launched its full scale invasion of the country in February 2022. Sophie is the wife of Prince Edward , the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II , and brother of King Charles III .

The Duchess met Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska during the Monday visit. She toured Bucha to “demonstrate solidarity with the women, men, and children impacted by the war.”

While there, she laid down flowers at a memorial site in Bucha commemorating the over 400 people killed during the Russian occupation. Ukrainian authorities in April 2022 accused departing Russian forces of committing war crimes in a scene reminiscent of “a horror movie.” Zelenska also met with survivors of sexual violence and torture.

Read More: A Visit to the Crime Scene Russian Troops Left Behind at a Summer Camp in Bucha

Sophie has been focused on championing the rights of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence for several years, announcing her commitment to the U.K.’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative in 2019. “Women and girls pay the highest price in terms of human costs,” she said on Monday at an evening reception at the residence of the U.K.’s ambassador to Ukraine, per the BBC . “Rape is used to demean, to degrade, and to destroy.”

The royal family, which is usually careful about staying neutral on most matters of politics, has been unusually outspoken about its support for Ukraine. 

King Charles referred to Russia’s invasion as a “unprovoked attack” in a statement marking the second anniversary of the invasion this past February. “I continue to be greatly encouraged that the United Kingdom and our allies remain at the forefront of international efforts to support Ukraine at this time of such great suffering and need,” he said.

Read More: King Charles III Sends Message to Ukraine on Anniversary of Russia’s Invasion

In March 2023, the Prince of Wales visited Poland on a “personal mission” and praised British troops working near the Ukraine border. 

And in February, the Queen welcomed First Lady Zelenska to Clarence House where they discussed how the U.K. can best support Ukraine. 

The U.K. has pledged nearly £5 billion in non-military aid to Ukraine since the war broke out, including over £660 million of bilateral assistance that prioritizes women and girls.

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Pope Francis visits Venice, says his work isn't easy

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• Pope makes flying visit to Venice, first trip of 2024
• Meets prisoners, youngsters and artists
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Russia-Ukraine war: Odesa’s ‘Harry Potter castle’ hit in Russian missile attack that killed five – as it happened

Four-year-old child and pregnant woman among those in a serious condition after strike on seafront park in Black Sea port city

• 8h ago Russian strike kills at least two people in Kharkiv - officials
• 8h ago Odesa’s ‘Harry Potter castle’ hit in Russian missile attack that killed five

Odesa’s ‘Harry Potter castle’ hit in Russian missile attack that killed five

Good morning and welcome to our Ukraine blog.

A Russian missile attack on an educational institution in a popular seafront park in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa, known locally as ‘Harry Potter castle’, on Monday killed at least five people and injured 32, local officials said. The previous death toll was four.

The building is reportedly the residence of prominent former MP Serhiy Kivalov, who was among those said to have been injured in the strike.

Regional governor Oleh Kiper said that in addition to those killed in the attack, one man died after suffering a stroke attributed to the strike.

Kiper said eight of the injured were in serious condition, including a four-year-old child. Among the injured were another child and a pregnant woman.

“Our doctors are trying to do their best,” he added.

Here are some of the other main developments in the war:

Nato countries have not delivered what they promised to Ukraine in time, which has benefited Russia on the frontline, Jens Stoltenberg has said . “Serious delays in support have meant serious consequences on the battlefield” for Ukraine, the Nato secretary general said in Kyiv while meeting the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Ukrainian officials say Russia is assembling forces for a major summer offensive , even if its troops are making only incremental gains at the moment. “The lack of ammunition has allowed the Russians to push forward along the frontline ,” Stoltenberg added. “Lack of air defence has made it possible for more Russian missiles to hit their targets, and the lack of deep strike capabilities has made it possible for the Russians to concentrate more forces.” Zelenskiy said new western supplies have started arriving, but slowly. “This process must be speeded up,” he said.

The head of the southern Kherson region said Russian shelling killed one person in the last 24 hours.

Debris showed that an North Korean Hwasong-11 ballistic missile hit Kharkiv on 2 January, UN sanctions monitors have told a security council committee in a report seen by Reuters. The missile was most likely illegally supplied to Russia, they conclude. North Korea is accused of developing such weapons and supplying them to Russia despite being under UN sanctions for its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes since 2006. Ukraine’s allies have accused North Korea of transferring weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine in violation of an arms embargo. The US has accused Russia of launching North Korean-supplied ballistic missiles against Ukraine on at least nine occasions .

Away from the frontline, Polish farmers have lifted blockades at border crossings with Ukraine , officials said on Monday, ending a two-month protest over farm imports and alleged unfair competition.

Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, made an unannounced visit to Ukraine – the first British royal to travel to the country since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. Buckingham Palace said on Monday that Sophie, wife of Prince Edward, met Zelenskiy and first lady Olena Zelenska in Kyiv and delivered a message on behalf of King Charles III. It did not disclose the timing or details of the visit. The palace said Sophie made the trip “to demonstrate solidarity with the women, men and children impacted by the war and in a continuation of her work to champion survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.”

This live blog has been paused. For the latest coverage on Russia’s war in Ukraine, please visit our dedicated page .

To keep up to date quickly with the latest in Ukraine, read our Ukraine war briefing here.

Germany has supplied Ukraine with another batch of military aid, which includes ammunition for Leopard 2 tanks, ten infantry fighting vehicles and a Skynex air defence system. You can view the full list of the aid included in Berlin’s military package here .

Military aid worth about €28bn (£23.9bn) has so far been made available by Germany (or has been earmarked) to support Ukraine over the next few years, according to the German government.

In addition, more than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers received military training in Germany, it said.

Germany, which earlier this month promised to deliver a third Patriot battery to Kyiv, has been leading efforts to bolster Ukraine’s air defences as Moscow makes gains on the battlefield with Kyiv waiting for crucial US supplies to be delivered.

Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Friday that Nato allies had Patriot systems available to provide to Ukraine, but he declined to go into details, citing classified information. “We are working with those allies to ensure that they make the right decisions to provide new Patriot batteries,” he said.

Germany, Poland, Sweden, Spain and Greece are among the EU countries that possess the Patriot systems. But some EU nations appear hesitant to give up their supplies.

Russian strike kills at least two people in Kharkiv - officials

A Russian strike killed at least two people and injured six more in the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Tuesday, according to local officials.

The Russian forces used guided bombs to carry out the attack on the city, according to preliminary information, governor Oleh Synehubov wrote on Telegram.

The attack damaged a residential building in one of the city districts, the city’s mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said. The emergency services are continuing to work at the site.

Security officials believe the Kremlin’s original war aims are unchanged, more than two years after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion. They include seizing the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa and occupying Ukraine’s southern Black Sea coast.

They assess that Russia will not be able to storm Kharkiv, a city of more than 1 million people close to the Russian border but will continue to bomb and to threaten it.

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Pope visits Venice to speak to the artists and inmates behind the Biennale’s must-see prison show

Pope Francis began his visit to Venice on Sunday with a meeting with women prisoners at the Giudecca Women’s Prison. The prisoners and their guards gathered in the prison courtyard where the Pope, pushed in a wheelchair, greeted all 80 detainees. (Production by Trisha Thomas)

Pope Francis met with thousands of young people along a canal in Venice Sunday morning and told them to “leave the cell phone and meet people.” The 87-year-old Pope was making a whirlwind visit to Venice where he started off his day meeting women prisoners and visiting the Vatican’s art exhibit at a women’s prison. (Production by Trisha Thomas and Luigi Navarra)

More than 10,000 people crowded into St. Mark’s Square in Venice to take part in a Mass with Pope Francis. (AP video by Paolo Santalucia) (Production by Trisha Thomas and Gigi Navarra)

Pope Francis travelled to the lagoon city of Venice on Sunday for a series of public appearances. The morning visit, which ended with Mass in St. Mark’s Square, represented an increasingly rare outing for the 87-year-old pontiff, who has been hobbled by health and mobility problems that have ruled out any foreign trips so far this year. (AP video by Paolo Santalucia and Helena Alves)

Pope Francis waves to faithful at the end of a mass in St. Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

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Pope Francis is greeted by Gondoliers upon his arrival in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis delivers his message as he meets with young people in front of the Church of the Salute in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Gondoliers wait for the arrival of Pope Francis in front of the Santissimo Redentore church in Venice, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis arrives in St. Mark’s Square to celebrate a mass in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Pope Francis, foreground, is greeted by Gondoliers upon his arrival in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis arrives in front of the Church of the Salute to meet with youths in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis is greeted by gondoliers upon his arrival in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis, aboard of a speedboat foreground, is greeted by Gondoliers upon his arrival in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis is flanked by Cardinal Francesco Moraglia, left, at the end of a mass in St. Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

ALTERNATIVE CROP OF ALT105 - Pope Francis, foreground, is greeted by Gondoliers upon his arrival in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. In background is the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis arrives in St. Mark’s Square to celebrate a mass in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis, background center, delivers his message in front of the Church of the Salute during his meeting with youths in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis delivers his message as he meets with youths in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis, aboard a motorboat foreground, passes past the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore upon his arrival in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis prays in front of an icon of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus at the end of a mass in St. Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Pope Francis celebrates a mass in St. Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Pope Francis, background center, celebrates a mass in St. Mark’s Square, Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Faithful gather in St. Mark’s Square, during a mass celebrated by Pope Francis in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Pope Francis prays inside St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Francis leaves St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy, Sunday, April 28, 2024. The Pontiff arrived for his first-ever visit to the lagoon town including the Vatican pavilion at the 60th Biennal of Arts. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Venice has always been a place of contrasts, of breathtaking beauty and devastating fragility, where history, religion, art and nature have collided over the centuries to produce an otherworldly gem of a city. But even for a place that prides itself on its culture of unusual encounters, Pope Francis’ visit Sunday stood out.

Francis traveled to the lagoon city to visit the Holy See’s pavilion at the Biennale contemporary art show and meet with the people who created it. But because the Vatican decided to mount its exhibit in Venice’s women’s prison, and invited inmates to collaborate with the artists , the whole project assumed a far more complex meaning, touching on Francis’ belief in the power of art to uplift and unite, and of the need to give hope and solidarity to society’s most marginalized.

Francis hit on both messages during his visit, which began in the courtyard of the Giudecca prison where he met with the women inmates one by one. As some of them wept, Francis urged them to use their time in prison as a chance for “moral and material rebirth.”

“Paradoxically, a stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute,” Francis said.

Francis then met with Biennale artists in the prison chapel, decorated with an installation by Brazilian visual artist Sonia Gomes of objects dangling from the ceiling, meant to draw the viewer’s gaze upward. He urged the artists to embrace the Biennale’s theme this year “Strangers Everywhere,” to show solidarity with all those on the margins.

The Vatican exhibit has turned the Giudecca prison, a former convent for reformed prostitutes, into one of the must-see attractions of this year’s Biennale, even though to see it visitors must reserve in advance and go through a security check. It has become an unusual art world darling that greets visitors at the entrance with Maurizio Cattelan’s wall mural of two giant filthy feet , a work that recalls Caravaggio’s dirty feet or the feet that Francis washes each year in a Holy Thursday ritual that he routinely performs on prisoners.

The exhibit also includes a short film starring the inmates and Zoe Saldana, and prints in the prison coffee shop by onetime Catholic nun and American social activist Corita Kent.

Francis’ dizzying morning visit, which ended with Mass in St. Mark’s Square, represented an increasingly rare outing for the 87-year-old pontiff, who has been hobbled by health and mobility problems that have ruled out any foreign trips so far this year.

And Venice, with its 121 islands and 436 bridges, isn’t an easy place to negotiate. But Francis pulled it off, arriving by helicopter from Rome, crossing the Giudecca Canal in a water taxi and then arriving in St. Mark’s Square in a mini popemobile that traversed the Grand Canal via a pontoon bridge erected for the occasion.

During an encounter with young people at the iconic Santa Maria della Salute basilica, Francis acknowledged the miracle that is Venice, admiring its “enchanting beaty” and tradition as a place of East-West encounter, but warning that it is increasingly vulnerable to climate change and depopulation.

“Venice is at one with the waters upon which it sits,” Francis said. “Without the care and safeguarding of this natural environment, it might even cease to exist.”

Venice, sinking under rising sea levels and weighed down by the impact of overtourism, is in the opening days of an experiment to try to limit the sort of day trips that Francis undertook Sunday.

Venetian authorities last week launched a pilot program to charge day-trippers 5 euros ($5.35) apiece on peak travel days. The aim is to encourage them to stay longer or come at off-peak times, to cut down on crowds and make the city more livable for its dwindling number of residents.

For Venice’s Catholic patriarch, Archbishop Francesco Moraglia, the new tax program is a worthwhile experiment, a potential necessary evil to try to preserve Venice as a livable city for visitors and residents alike.

Moraglia said Francis’ visit — the first by a pope to the Biennale — was a welcome boost, especially for the women of the Giudecca prison who participated in the exhibit as tour guides and as protagonists in some of the artworks.

He acknowledged that Venice over the centuries has had a long, complicated, love-hate relationship with the papacy, despite its central importance to Christianity.

The relics of St. Mark — the top aide to St. Peter, the first pope — are held here in the basilica, which is one of the most important and spectacular in all of Christendom. Several popes have hailed from Venice — in the past century alone three pontiffs were elected after being Venice patriarchs. And Venice hosted the last conclave held outside the Vatican: the 1799-1800 vote that elected Pope Paul VII.

But for centuries before that, relations between the independent Venetian Republic and the Papal States were anything but cordial as the two sides dueled over control of the church. Popes in Rome issued interdicts against Venice that essentially excommunicated the entire territory. Venice flexed its muscles back by expelling entire religious orders, including Francis’ own Jesuits.

“It’s a history of contrasts because they were two competitors for so many centuries,” said Giovanni Maria Vian, a church historian and retired editor of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano whose family hails from Venice. “The papacy wanted to control everything, and Venice jealously guarded its independence.”

Moraglia said that troubled history is long past and that Venice was welcoming Francis with open arms and gratitude, in keeping with its history as a bridge between cultures.

“The history of Venice, the DNA of Venice — beyond the language of beauty and culture that unifies — there’s this historic character that says that Venice has always been a place of encounter,” he said.

Francis said as much as he closed out Mass in St. Mark’s before an estimated 10,500 people.

“Venice, which has always been a place of encounter and cultural exchange, is called to be a sign of beauty available to all,” Francis said. “Starting with the least, a sign of fraternity and care for our common home.”

Winfield reported from Rome. Associated Press writer Colleen Barry contributed.