Zelenskiy asks Pope for help in releasing POWs in eastern Ukraine
Ukraine's president has asked Pope Francis for help in securing the release of prisoners of war held by Russia and by Russia-backed separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy made the request after a meeting with the pontiff at the Vatican on February 8.
"[The pope] does everything possible to achieve peace and harmony throughout the world," Zelenskiy said in a tweet after their meeting.
"I asked for help with the release of Ukrainians captured in Donbas, Crimea, and Russia," he said.
Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in March 2014. A month later, fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people and displaced more than 1 million.
Since being elected in May 2019, Zelenskiy has overseen two major swaps of prisoners with Russia and the separatist fighters it backs in eastern Ukraine.
At: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrainian-president-meets-pope-at-vatican-discusses-crisis-in-country-s-east/30423957.html
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Pope Francis during today's meeting at the Vatican.
