Pope Francis urges to cease conflict in the east of Ukraine at the earliest

Pope Francis. Photo: refnews.ru

On September 15, 2019, during the prayer on St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis prayed for an early end to the Donbas conflict, dw.com reports.

The Pope welcomed the exchange of prisoners between Moscow and Kiev that took place a week earlier, thanks to which those released "were able to fold their loved ones in their arms".

The pontiff prayed "for an early end to the conflict and sustainable peace in eastern Ukraine".

Earlier, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine, stressed that the UOC would continue to do everything possible to help release all Ukrainian prisoners. The UOC appealed to the new Ukrainian authorities to initiate the resumption of the process of releasing the Ukrainian captives and asked for the exchange in an "all for all" format.

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry also called on the Ukrainians to help Vladimir Zelensky implement his good intentions.

We will remind, on September 7, Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners by the 35-for-35 formula. The released Ukrainians were met at the airport by their relatives, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and other officials.

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