The President of Ukraine met with Pope Leo, in an attempt to reach a better peace agreement.
By Catholics for Catholics
Ukraine’s President is refusing to cede land to Russia as a compromise to a peace negotiation, despite pressure from the U.S. to reach an armistice between both countries.
In a desperate effort to gain a foothold in the negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Leo near Rome on Tuesday as he continued to gather European support for his country while resisting U.S. pressure for a heart-rending compromise with Russia.
According to Newsmax, Zelenskyy answered some questions asked by reporters in a WhatsApp chat, in which he reiterated his determined rejection to cede any territory, saying that “we clearly don’t want to give up anything,” even as “the Americans are looking for a compromise today, I will be honest.”
“Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories,” he said in the message late Monday. “According to the law we don’t have such a right. According to Ukraine’s law, our constitution, international law, and to be frank, we don’t have a moral right either.”
A foremost roadblock in the plan is the suggestion that Kyiv must cede control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to Russia, which illegally occupies most but not all of the territory. Ukraine and its European allies have firmly resisted the idea of handing over land.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met Pope Leo at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, expressing deep appreciation for the Vatican's humanitarian support and inviting the pontiff to visit Ukraine https://t.co/pmuBwtDcnk pic.twitter.com/yXeBJIRHqn
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 9, 2025
President Donald Trump said Zelenskyy “hasn’t yet read the proposal,” according to his comments to reporters.
Trump’s relationship with Zelenskyy has wobbled over time, and he has contended that U.S. spending on the war is not justified. Trump has stated on several occasions that Ukraine should consider territorial concessions to help end the conflict.
Zelenskyy admitted on Monday that Trump “certainly wants to end the war. … Surely, he has his own vision. We live here, from within we see details and nuances, we perceive everything much deeper, because this is our motherland.”
The Ukrainian President said the current U.S. peace plan is different from earlier versions in that it now has 20 points, down from 28, after he said some “obvious anti-Ukrainian points were removed.”
Pope Leo stressed the need to continue with a dialogue aiming at a “just and lasting peace” during a meeting on Tuesday with Zelenskyy, the Vatican said in a statement.
The pope “reiterated the need for the continuation of [dialogue] and expressed his urgent desire that the current diplomatic initiatives bring about, besides peace, “the questions of prisoners of war and the need to assure the return of Ukrainian children to their families were also discussed,” said the Vatican, which has mediated between Kyiv and Moscow on the children issue.
Save and Share This Catholic Patriotic Minute!
