Papal envoy sets off to Moscow to facilitate POWs exchange and repatriate Ukrainian children

Cardinal Zuppi, Pope Francis's papal delegate, traveled to Moscow on the Pontiff's orders. During his visit, he was tasked with facilitating the exchange of prisoners of war and the repatriation of Ukrainian children.

Vatican News writes about this.

According to reports, this mission has been ongoing since last year. Previously, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni announced that Pope Francis had tasked Cardinal Matteo Zuppi with leading a mission to reduce tensions in the war in Ukraine. The Holy Father has continuously expressed his hope to initiate peace processes in the region.

Therefore, on October 14, the second visit to Moscow within the framework of this mission began.

Earlier, in addition to the Russian capital, Cardinal Zuppi also visited Kyiv, Washington, and Beijing. In August, a representative of the Holy See spoke with the special representative of the Chinese government, Li Hui, to seek ways to peace in Ukraine.

"During the telephone conversation, great concern was expressed about the situation, and the need to promote dialogue between the parties with appropriate international guarantees to achieve a just and lasting peace was emphasized," Vatican News writes.

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It's worth mentioning that on October 11, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Vatican and met with Pope Francis. During the meeting, the president gifted the pope a painting portraying the massacre in Bucha.

The Ukrainian leader made his third visit to the Vatican. Before this, he met with the Pope on February 8, 2020, and again on May 13, 2023. The President and the Pontiff also had a bilateral meeting on June 14 during the 50th G7 Summit in Borgo Egnatia, in the Apulia region.

As the Vatican press service reported last year, the Pope and Zelensky "agreed on the need to continue providing humanitarian aid to the population," and Francis emphasized, in particular, the need for "humane gestures" toward the most vulnerable, "innocent victims of the conflict" with Russia.

In turn, in June of this year, the Vatican expressed its readiness to act as a mediator in the exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. For this, the Holy See is in constant contact with the Ukrainian and Russian authorities.

At the same time, Zelensky appealed to the Pope to condemn Russian crimes in Ukraine and discussed the "peace formula" as "the only effective algorithm for achieving a just peace," offering the Vatican "to join in its implementation."