Ukraine Slams Pope Francis for Urging Kyiv to Wave 'White Flag' in War Against Russia

Vatican City – Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, said that Ukraine should have the “courage” to negotiate the end to the war with Russia and “wave the white flag”. The comments from the Vatican sovereign immediately attracted major backlash from Ukraine and its allies. According to CBS News, the pope made this controversial appeal during an interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI, which was recorded last month and was partially released on Saturday. Shortly after the release of the interview, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned the pontiff's statements. 

"I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates," Francis said, adding that talks should take place with the help of international powers, CBS News reported. In the past, Ukraine has maintained that it will not engage directly with Russia for peace talks until “just peace” is ensured in the region. In response to the Pope's comment, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba thanked the Pope for “constantly praying for peace” but maintained that the only flag Ukraine will be waving is their own country's flag. 

“The strongest is the one who, in the battle between good and evil, stands on the side of good rather than attempting to put them on the same footing and call it “negotiations”. At the same time, when it comes to the white flag, we know this Vatican's strategy from the first half of the twentieth century. I urge you to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and to support Ukraine and its people in their struggle for their lives,” Kuleba wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. “Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags. We thank His Holiness Pope Francis for his constant prayers for peace, and we continue to hope that after two years of devastating war in the heart of Europe, the Pontiff will find an opportunity to pay an Apostolic visit to Ukraine to support over a million Ukrainian Catholics, over five million Greek-Catholics, all Christians, and all Ukrainians,” the statement from the Ukrainian foreign minister further reads. 

Pope receives backlash

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the pontiff was engaging in “virtual mediation”. However, he did not make any direct reference to Francis in his comments and mentioned that “religious figures are helping inside Ukraine". “They support us with prayer, with their discussion and with deeds. This is indeed what a church with the people is,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. “Not 2,500 km away, somewhere, virtual mediation between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you," he added. Politicians and commentators across Europe expressed outrage after the Pope's interview. "How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine," Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Sunday on social media. “Peace would immediately ensue without the need for negotiations,” the Polish diplomat furthered. 

Bernhard Kotsch, German ambassador to the Holy See, called Russia the aggressor in the ongoing war and urged Moscow to end the war. Edgars Rinkēvičs, the president of Latvia also shared his “Sunday morning take” on the matter. "One must not capitulate in the face of evil, one must fight it and defeat it so that the evil raises the white flag and capitulates," he averred. During the interview, the pope also highlighted how some other nations offered to be mediators in the peace talks. "Today, for example, in the war in Ukraine, there are many who want to mediate," he said. "Turkey has offered itself for this. And others. Do not be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse."