text/view European
Pope Francis (Pope Francis) directly called for the first time to call on Russian President Vladimir Putin (Vladimir Putin) to stop the "spiral rise of violence and death" against Ukraine, and also said that he was troubled by the "river of blood and tears". Meanwhile, Francis also tagged Ukrainian President Zelensky and asked him to consider the ceasefire suggestion . In addition, he also urgently called for an end to the conflict "in the name of God" and said the world is risking a nuclear conflict.
The head of the Catholic Church also condemned the "referendum to Russia" held in four regions of Ukraine, saying that it risks escalating nuclear conflict and urged Putin to consider its people when he delivered a speech against Ukraine in St. Peter's Square.
A Vatican official said the passionate speech was very serious, reminiscent of Pope John XXIII's radio call for peace during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Analysts said that although Francis often condemned the casualties caused by Russia's attack on Ukraine and the war, this was the first time he directly made a personal appeal to Putin.
Francis said, "I first call on the President of the Russian Federation to stop the cycle of violence and death, even out of love for his own people." At the same time, he also called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider the ceasefire proposal. He said, "On the other hand, I feel miserable for the great suffering the Ukrainian people suffered after they have suffered invasions, and I also call on Ukraine with hope to accept serious peace proposals."
And he also called for an emergency end to the conflict "in the name of God" and said that the world is risking a nuclear conflict, which is "absurd." After saying these words, Francis felt that it was not enough, and then he appealed to the two leaders in both Russian and Ukrainian on the social media platform Twitter .
And in response to the risk of nuclear conflict, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he expects President Putin to continue to suggest that he may use nuclear weapons in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and that he may actually do so. "Not comfortable with Putin, just like he made an irresponsible decision to attack Ukraine, you know, he could make another decision. But I can't see anything that convinced me that he has made such a decision." However, Austin did not give a basis for his own conjecture.
Two days ago, Putin announced that four regions would be included in Russian territory and dared to act, and also called the residents of Donetsk , Lugansk , Kelsen and Zapolysia regions "our eternal citizens." In response, Ukraine and Ukraine’s Western allies condemned Russia’s actions as illegal. Kiev also vowed that it will continue to fight and regain all occupied Ukrainian territory. Meanwhile, Russia rejected an UN resolution that would declare Russia's referendum "ineffective" and urged all countries not to recognize any "alloyed annexation" of Moscow's territory.
The Russian-Ukraine war is still continuing. Ukraine said on Sunday that it had full control of the strategic center of the eastern region, which is considered the most important battlefield victory Kiev has achieved in weeks. Regarding the current conflict situation, Francis said, "I feel strongly regretful about the serious situation caused by the past few days. More actions violate the principles of international law." When talking about the three Russians living in Ukraine, Francis said that it is also necessary to respect "the rights of ethnic minorities and (their) legitimate concerns."
Francis said that the world understands Ukraine's geography and other places where people suffer "indescribable pain and fear" through place names such as Butcha, Ilpin , Mariupol , Iyum, Zapoririya, etc., which is "paining".
