Pope Leo XIV has subtly made a plea to President Donald Trump to hurry up and do something about Vladimir Putin, after Russia launched a huge drone strike on Ukraine.
In his latest tweet-posting spree, the man once known as Robert Prevost doubled down on his appeals for the U.S. president to fulfill his promise to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
“The people of Ukraine have been struck by fresh, serious attacks,” the Chicago-born pontiff wrote on X Wednesday.
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Earlier this week, Russia hit Ukraine with the biggest drone and missile attacks since Putin launched a full-scale invasion in early 2022. The aerial assault of 367 drones and missiles killed at least 12 people—including three children.
Trump responded by saying the Kremlin chief is going “absolutely crazy” and “playing with fire.”
The called for diplomacy to prevail. “I assure my prayers for all the victims, especially children and their families,” he wrote.
“I strongly reiterate my appeal to end the war and to support every initiative for dialogue and peace. Let us #PrayTogether for peace in #Ukraine and wherever war brings suffering.”
Leo XIV had appealed for the war to end not long after white smoke billowed out of the Sistine Chapel chimney earlier this month, marking his selection as the next pope. But Trump, who promised to end the war in Ukraine on day one of his presidency, appeared to bail out of peace talks soon after, leaving it up to the pope to barter for a ceasefire.
“The conditions for that [a ceasefire] will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of,” the president said after a phone call with Putin.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the Vatican was interested in hosting negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not happy with Trump stepping back, however.
After the massive drone and missile strike earlier this week, he sent a pointed message to Trump.
“The world may go on vacation, but the war continues, despite weekends and weekdays,” he said in a post on Telegram.
“This cannot be ignored. America’s silence, and the silence of others in the world, only encourages Putin.”
The pope tried to fill the void of Trump’s apparent lack of diplomatic vigor, appealing for peace in Gaza, too.
“From #Gaza, the cries of parents rise to heaven ever more intensely as they clutch the lifeless bodies of their children, searching for food and shelter from bombs,” he wrote after his Ukraine appeal.
“I renew my appeal to leaders: cease fire, release all hostages, and fully respect international humanitarian law!”
