MFA Ukraine summons apostolic nuncio to express disappointment over Pope's comment

This was stated by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, who spoke at a joint briefing with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio in Kyiv.

"We carefully studied the full quote of Pope Francis and, first of all, decided to summon the Apostolic Nuncio to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express Ukraine's disappointment with these words," the top diplomat said.

Kuleba added that today, the nuncio came to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a statement in this regard will appear soon, with more details. The head of Ukrainian diplomacy noted that summoning a nuncio to the ministry is a rather unprecedented case as such so it speaks for itself.

"And secondly, I will say frankly that the Ukrainian heart is torn by the Pope's words. It was unfair," the minister added.

As reported, on August 20, a car was blown up in the suburbs of Moscow, allegedly driven by Darya Dugina, the daughter of the main ideologist behind the notorious “Russian world” concept, Alexander Dugin.

Dugina, 29, hosted a Telegram channel, which she used to support Russia's war on Ukraine. She also appeared as an expert on panel shows and gave lectures at a far-right bookstore.

Pope Francis earlier called Darya Dugina an “innocent victim of war.”