![](\"https:\/\/thedialog.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/14135712\/CDOW.HR_.Sept_.2026.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cHis Holiness expressed the hope that cooperation between both parties will allow for the delivery of food and medical aid, and for the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n
The pope also reaffirmed the Holy See\u2019s commitment \u201cto promoting dialogue and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a separate statement published Oct. 19 by the Ukrainian president\u2019s office, Zelenskyy said he wished the pope \u201cfull and speedy recovery following surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are grateful that even during this difficult time for him personally, His Holiness remembers Ukraine and prays for our people,\u201d Zelenskyy said.<\/p>\n
According to his office, Zelenskyy gave the pope a detailed briefing on Russian strikes against Ukrainian cities, and the two \u201cdiscussed the humanitarian catastrophe\u201d in Oleshky.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy, the statement read, \u201cnoted that Ukraine is working to help our people there and is preparing the necessary decisions. His Holiness informed him about contacts with the Russian side on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tensions with Washington<\/h3>\n
Zelenskyy also briefed Pope Leo on reported disruptions to Ukraine\u2019s defense communications, which have strained relations with Washington. According to NPR, Zelenskyy said SpaceX imposed restrictions on the country\u2019s access to the U.S. military\u2019s Starshield satellite internet network in response \u201cto a message from the American government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starshield is a military version of Starlink, the satellite internet service run by SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk.<\/p>\n
Musk, however, denied that SpaceX played any role in the disruptions, saying that \u201cStarshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government\u201d and that \u201cany limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military and ultimately\u201d by U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also denied Zelenskyy\u2019s claim that the US government ordered the disruptions, NPR reported.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, tensions between Ukraine and the United States have risen after Trump moved to waive sanctions against Russia in exchange for purchasing diesel in an attempt to lower rising prices due to war in Iran.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy\u2019s office said the Ukrainian president\u2019s conversation with Pope Leo \u201ccovered current security challenges and threats, including the periodic lack of warnings from partners about Russian ballistic missile attacks, which has happened three times recently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president thanked His Holiness for his support and all his efforts to achieve a dignified peace,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n
Decrying crimes against humanity<\/h3>\n
In a message marking the war\u2019s 244th week, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, condemned Russia\u2019s attacks against Ukraine\u2019s energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n
According to the Reuters news agency, Trump announced an energy ceasefire Oct. 11; however, neither Russia nor Ukraine confirmed the agreement.<\/p>\n
Despite the so-called truce, Russia has continued to conduct attacks on Ukraine\u2019s energy grid, which left 600,000 people without electricity, Major Archbishop Shevchuk wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrimes against humanity of this kind were committed precisely when the U.S. president announced a so-called energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine,\u201d Major Archbishop Shevchuk wrote, calling the timing of the attacks especially painful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is \u2026 very important for us, as Christians, to understand that even peace negotiations and efforts to end a war must be governed by moral principles,\u201d Major Archbishop Shevchuk added, saying that \u201cAgreements reached without regard for such principles, in which energy resources are valued more highly than human life, are doomed to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Oct. 19, Iranian-designed Russian Shahed drones killed six people and injured 14 in the Kharkiv region, an attack Zelenskyy called a \u201cpure atrocity.\u201d A one-year-old girl named Angelina was killed in the strike, with her mother Inna dying hours later in the hospital, Zelenskyy wrote in his post on X.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are horrific photos, but behind them are shattered lives and the truth about this war,\u201d he said, sharing photographs from the playground where the attack occurred, killing among others an 11-year-old girl.<\/p>\n
The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said negotiations shouldn\u2019t ignore the human cost and that any agreements must be assessed by \u201cthe extent to which they alleviate the suffering\u201d of the people and not by \u201cthe political or economic benefits they yield or the high-profile political statements they generate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd even as we gratefully acknowledge mediation efforts aimed at ending the war, it is essential to distinguish between restraining an unjust aggressor and coercing the victim,\u201d Major Archbishop Shevchuk wrote.<\/p>\n
He also reminded the international community that while Ukraine depends on aid, that dependence \u201cgives no one the moral right to dictate its future without the participation of the Ukrainian people themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must not blur the distinction between the aggressor state and the people who have the right to defend themselves,\u201d Major Archbishop Shevchuk wrote. \u201cIn international efforts to end any war \u2014 including Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine \u2014 it is essential not to set peace against justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Junno Arocho Esteves is an international correspondent for OSV News. Follow him on X @jae_journalist.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/thedialog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/SITS.Leaderboard.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\nkabarsula SLOT <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greets Pope Leo XIV during a meeting at the papal residence…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kabarsula"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thedialog.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/20090149\/20261020T0815-POPE-LEO-ZELENSKYY-CALL-1828621-640x427.jpg\" "\\"2025")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thedialog.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/20090149\/20261020T0815-POPE-LEO-ZELENSKYY-CALL-1828621-scaled.jpg\" "\\"2025")
<\/a>![](\"https:\/\/thedialog.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/31135457\/DIALOG-DIGITAL-AD-ILG-TOP-INSET-800x100-07-17-26-V1.png\"\/)
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n