On Oct. 11, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, marking a new step in his European Tour.
Zelensky’s private audience with the Vatican comes amid a tense atmosphere between the Holy See in Kyiv and some of the controversial remarks made by the pope about Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The ANSA news agency reported that during a 35-minute meeting, the pope gave Ukraine’s president a bronze bas relief with a flower, and the inscription “peace is fragile flower”.
Zelensky, in turn, reportedly gave Pope Francis a painting entitled “The Bucha Massacre-the Story of Marichka.” Bucha, an area northwest of Kyiv occupied by Russian troops soon after the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, saw some of Russia’s most horrific atrocities committed against civilians.
Details of the talks between Zelensky, the pope and others have not been made public.
Despite having repeatedly denounced Russia’s full-scale invasion, and urged peace, Pope Francis’s call in March for Ukraine to “not be ashamed to bargain” with Russia was met with apprehension by Kyiv and its partners. The comments were interpreted as a call to surrender to Russian aggression.
Recent nomination of Mykola Bychok, a Ternopil born bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church of Australia, to College of Cardinals, brought the relationship between the Vatican and Ukraine into the spotlight.
Some people saw the nomination of Ukraine’s only cardinal as a positive sign for Kyiv, but the choice of a lesser known bishop over Sviatoslav Shchuk, primate of Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church came as a shock.
Zelensky visited the Vatican after his trips to the U.K. France and Italy where he met with leaders of those countries to present the five-step plan for victory in Ukraine. The president will also travel to Germany on October 11 to meet with German chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Ukrainian head of state is on a tour of European countries, urging them to increase their military support and mobilize behind the victory plan. Kyiv describes the plan as a way towards a just and lasting peaceful future.
The situation for the besieged nation is getting worse as Russian forces continue to press on in the east and the population faces an energy shortage in the coming winter. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House in the next month has prompted fears of weakened U.S. backing.
During a 35-minute meeting, the pope presented Ukraine’s president with a bronze relief with a flower, and the inscription “Peace is fragile flower.”
On Oct. 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Turkmenistan and spoke at a forum with Central Asian leaders, including the president of Iran.
The alleged attempts to pressurize the media outlet “are nothing less than anti-democratic, given the essential role that the newsroom plays in upholding the core national value of freedom the press,” Gulnoza Saied, the Committee to Protect Journalists‘ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator said.
Vasyl Chynchyk, the head of administration in the town, said that approximately 1,150 people still live there.
Regional authorities reported early on October 11 that Russian attacks in Ukraine have killed six people and injured 27 others over the past 24 hours.
Maksym Kozoytskyi, the Lviv Oblast Governor, confirmed that the passenger bus, which carried the logo of popular transport company FlixBus was travelling from Warsaw to Odesa.
The General Staff has not provided any further details on how the helicopter was destroyed.
In a documentary broadcast on national television, Commander-in Chief Oleksandr Sryskyi stated that “we know about approximately 50,000 soldiers who were transferred from other sectors to the Kursk directions.”
Oleh Kiper, the Governor of Odesa, reported that Russia launched a missile attack on the district, which killed at least four people including a 16 year old girl.
This includes 1,140 casualties that Russian forces have suffered in the last day.
The Norwegian government will spend up to 967 millions kroner ($87.5 million) on enhancing its defense industry. This money is aimed at supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia’s full scale invasion.
During his visit to Italy, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented the Ukrainian victory plan to Italian Premier Giorgia Mello.
On Oct. 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing Georgians to enter Russia without a visa if they are working or studying there. Moscow is continuing to warm up its relations with Tbilisi despite concerns about the country’s democratic slide.
Bloomberg reported on October 10 that the premiums on war risk insurance for vessels traveling through Ukraine’s Black Sea shipping corridor have increased by approximately 33 per cent as a result of recent Russian attacks on foreign ships.
Local media reported that two large fires broke out at an oil terminal terminal in Russian-occupied Feodosia, late at night, on October 10. They were at the site of another fire, which had been burning for 4 days, at a previous Ukrainian drone attack.
The strike on Oct. 9, which left eight dead and 11 injured, hit a civilian vessel flying the Panamanian flag and damaged its cargo. This was the third Russian attack on a civilian vessel within four days.
Petro Yatsenko is a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Coordination HQ for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. He said that the circumstances of Viktoria Rosahchyna‘s death are yet to be confirmed.
Ramzan Kadyrov told other officials in the North Caucasian Republic that there were witnesses and people who they had tried to commission. They also asked them how much they wanted to charge for the order.
Kim Yong-Hyun, South Korean Defense minister, told lawmakers earlier in October that North Korea likely planned to send troops into Ukraine to fight with Russia.
The Belarusian Hajun group reported that a second Russian Mig-31K capable of carrying Kinzhal rockets landed at Machulishchy Airport in Belarus on October 10.
Five people were injured in a Russian attack on the village of Cherkaska Lozova, north of Kharkiv, on 10 October, according to Oleh Simiehubov.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and International Finance Corporation (IFC) provided $435 million long-term debt for Datagroup-Volia-Lifecell, a recently merged Ukrainian telecom company, to improve telecoms service quality, the EBRD said on Oct. 10.
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