Zelenskyy meets with pope as Ukraine prepares to send updated peace proposals to U.S.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Leo XIV in Rome on Tuesday, as Kyiv said it was preparing to send updated proposals to the United States for ending the war with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Leo XIV in Rome on Tuesday, as Kyiv said it was preparing to send updated proposals to the United States for ending the war with Russia.

Less than 24 hours after he reiterated that Ukraine would not cede land to Russia, Zelenskyy met with the pontiff before holding talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a day after he met with the leaders of Britain, France and Germany in London.

Thanking Leo for the visit and “all the attention given to our people,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X that he had invited the pope to visit Ukraine. “This would be a powerful signal of support for our people,” he added.

St. Peter’s Basilica was the setting for an iconic photo of Zelenskyy sitting face-to-face with President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the funeral for Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, in April.

Some interpreted it as a sign that relations between the two leaders were warming, two months after Zelenskyy’s disastrous visit to the White House, which saw Trump and Vice President JD Vance chastise him and tell him he wasn't grateful enough to the U.S.