Pope Francis has recently made known that he is involved in a secret mission to bring peace to Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict that has been trudging on for over a year. Francis suggested that he was prepared to do everything in his power to bring a stop to the violence in the area, according to the Daily Mail
Francis shared the news with journalists during a flight home from a recent visit to Hungary, saying: "I'm available to do anything. There is a mission that's not public that's under way; when it's public I'll talk about it."
"I think that peace is always made by opening channels. You can never achieve peace through closure. This is not easy."
Francis has said that he does not support the conflict, adding that the Vatican was also prepared to help repatriate Ukrainian children who have apparently been relocated to Russia amid the conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been charged with war crimes, with information being released in mid-March about Russia’s effort to relocate Ukrainian children to his own country. The Conflict Observatory reported in mid-February that there were more than 6,000 Ukrainian children in Russian custody.
However, the number has reportedly gone up, with Kyiv reporting that it estimates about 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied zones since Moscow first invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine has condemned the behavior as illegal deportations.
Francis’ comments come shortly after Russia carried out missile attacks in three different Ukrainian cities last week, the heaviest missile offensive in two months. Reports suggested that there were 23 civilians killed in the horrific attack, but Ukraine has apparently been preparing an ‘iron fist’ counteroffensive, featuring weapons purchased with $500 million sent by the US Department of Defense last month.
The Daily Mail reported that Ukraine’s air defense crews had managed to fizzle 15 of the 18 missiles launched by Russia, but the shelling apparently wounded 25 people in the Dnipropetrovsk area.
During his visit to Hungary, Francis apparently communicated his thoughts about the Ukraine war to Prime Minister Viktor Orban and the Metropolitan Hilarion, a Russian Orthodox Church representative located in Budapest.
