‘Stop this spiral of violence and death,’ says Pope in plea to Putin
POPE Francis yesterday implored Vladimir Putin to stop the ‘spiral of violence and death’ in Ukraine as he decried the ‘absurd’ risk of a nuclear war.
The pontiff made his strongest plea over the seven-month conflict as he delivered his Angelus address to thousands of worshippers at St Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
He appealed for an immediate ceasefire to end the ‘grave situation’, citing Mr Putin’s leadership directly for the first time.
‘This terrible, inconceivable wound of humanity, instead of healing, continues to shed even more blood, risking to spread further,’ the pontiff said.
‘That humanity again finds itself before the threat of atomic war is absurd. I deeply deplore the grave situation that has arisen in recent days, with further actions contrary to the principles of international law. It increases the risk of nuclear escalation, giving rise to fears of uncontrollable and catastrophic consequences worldwide.’
The Pope said: ‘My appeal is addressed first and foremost to the President of the Russian Federation, imploring him to stop this spiral of violence and death, also for the sake of his own people.’
He also called on Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to ‘be open to serious proposals to peace’ and urged all international leaders to do everything they could to avoid ‘dangerous escalation’.
His plea comes as one of Putin’s closest allies called for nuclear strikes after Ukraine recaptured the key town of Lyman on Saturday.
The defeat came just a day after Putin proclaimed the annexation of nearly a fifth of Ukraine, including Donetsk where Lyman is located.
In a video address, Mr Zelensky vowed: ‘Over the past week, the number of Ukrainian flags in Donbas has increased. There will be even more a week’s time.’
Kyiv’s recent successes have infuriated Putin allies and raised concerns over Russian escalation.
Ramzan Kadyrov, leader of
Russia’s southern Chechnya region, wrote on Telegram: ‘More drastic measures should be taken, right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons.’
It comes as Danish authorities said the Russian-built Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines had stopped leaking after undersea explosions last week.
Suspicions were raised it was Russian sabotage to put pressure on the West over energy supplies.
Meanwhile, in a move that could trigger more fury in Moscow, nine European Nato states yesterday backed Ukraine’s latest bid to join the alliance.
The presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia said in a joint statement: ‘We do not recognise and will never recognise Russian attempts to annex any Ukrainian territory.’
‘Risk of nuclear escalation’