Zelensky presents Pope with a painting of the Bucha massacre during a meeting in the Vatican
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Francis in the Vatican, during which he presented the pontiff with a painting symbolising the tragedy of the Bucha massacre. This was reported by Ansa.
The meeting lasted about 35 minutes in the Vatican library hall, followed by a presentation by the Ukrainian delegation. The Pope presented Zelenskyy with a bronze bas-relief of a flower with the inscription ‘Peace is a fragile flower’. In turn, the Ukrainian president presented the Pope with an oil painting entitled ‘The Bucha Massacre. The Story of Marichka’.
This meeting was the third between Zelenskyy and Pope Francis since the start of the full-scale war. The previous meetings took place in May 2023 during Zelenskyy’s visit to the Vatican, as well as at the G7 summit in Puglia, Italy.
This week, Zelenskyy made a working visit to Europe, visiting Croatia, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. During these meetings, the President of Ukraine presented a plan for Ukraine’s victory to European leaders. In addition, during his talks with the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the issue of lifting restrictions on the use of long-range weapons to strike Russia was discussed.
