Pope Francis addresses the war in Ukraine with high representative of the European Union

Pope Francis met this morning with the high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, in an appointment in which they could address the situation in Ukraine after almost three years of combat after the beginning of the Russian invasion in its territory in February 2022.

“We talk about the Russian war in Ukraine and the need for a fair and lasting peace that guarantees the future of Ukraine,” Kallas said in Your account in the social network X.

In addition, he added that, during the meeting, he thanked the Pontiff “his firm leadership in the protection of the most vulnerable and the defense of human dignity.”

The appointment between them took place in the Santa Marta house, residence of the Holy Father in the Vatican, and not in the Apostolic Palace, as usual.

Last week, the Pontiff’s meetings moved to this space to avoid the journey to their private library in the Apostolic Palace, since it suffers from bronchitis.

These almost 36 months of conflict andn Ukraine have caused a significant number of both military and civilians. According to estimates of August 2023 made by the ONG BRAND UKRAINE, that works in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, some 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died, and between 100,000 and 120,000 have been injured.

For their part, the Russian forces have suffered around 180,000 mortal casualties, with a total of 500,000 dead soldiers, injured or missing.

As for civil victims, until December 2024, The United Nations High Commissioner Office for Human Rights (UNHCT) registered 12,456 civilians dead and 28,382 injured since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022.

However, it is believed that real figures are considerably higher due to the lack of information from certain areas and the sub -registration.