Furor at Francis after urging ‘white flag’ in Ukraine

Pope Francis’ statement that Kyiv should have the “courage of the white flag” in order to negotiate an end to the war with Russia has ignited a storm of criticism by Ukrainian and allied officials — some of whom invoked the specter of World War II appeasement of Nazi Germany.

A Vatican spokesman walked back the statement Saturday, saying Francis supported “a stop to hostilities [and] a truce achieved with the courage of negotiations,” rather than a Ukrainian surrender.

But Ukrainian and Polish officials pilloried the remarks, which the pope made in an interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI that was recorded last month and partially released Saturday.

“The strongest is the one who, in the battle between good and evil, stands on the side of good rather than attempting to put them on the same footing and call it ‘negotiations,’ ” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a Sunday post on X.

“At the same time, when it comes to the white flag, we know this Vatican’s strategy from the first half of the 20th century,” Kuleba said, in an apparent reference to the church’s failure to take action against Germany in the run-up to World War II.

“I urge [the Vatican] to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and to support Ukraine and its people in their just struggle for their lives,” he added.

“Our flag is blue and yellow. We live, die and win under it. We will not raise other flags.”

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski joined in, saying on X that, “for balance,” the pope should tell Putin “to have the courage to withdraw his army.”

“Peace would immediately ensue,” Sikorski said.