President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited His Holiness Pope Francis to visit the capital and the east of Ukraine

The audience of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the First Lady Olena Zelenska with His Holiness Pope Francis took place in Vatican City State.

The Head of State stressed the important role that the Holy See could play in bringing peace to the Ukrainian land.

“The main thing we talked about is peace. He even called me "President of peace" - this is my image in Europe now," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after the audience.

According to the President of Ukraine, it is important that the meeting with Pope Francis took place two months after the Paris summit in the Normandy format and before the scheduled meeting in Berlin.

"I urged Pope Francis to help with the release of Ukrainians held in Donbas, Crimea and Russia," he said.

The Head of State and His Holiness also discussed humanitarian initiatives to help children and protect the environment.

"I am extremely grateful to His Holiness for the Pope for Ukraine initiative, which helped 900,000 Ukrainians who had suffered in Donbas," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The Head of State emphasized that Ukrainian churches played an extremely important role in spreading the truth and development of society.

The President noted that His Holiness Pope Francis is very much welcome in Ukraine, where he enjoys extremely high support and trust.

“I invited him to Ukraine. I am sure he will be in Ukraine - not only in the capital. I said that in order to fully understand what was happening in the east, it was necessary to go to the east,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy concluded.