On Wednesday, January 25, Pope Francis met with a delegation from the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO), who were visiting the Vatican, according to the Vatican news.

"Thank you for this unity of yours, it means a lot to me. It is like children in a family where one is there, the other is somewhere else, but when mom is sick, everyone comes together," the Pope said during the meeting.

At the same time, he said we are not talking about Jewish, Islamic, Christian, Orthodox or Catholic Ukraine, but about "mother Ukraine," for the sake of which everyone rallies together.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Metropolitan Epiphanius, in turn, said that at the meeting the Pope was asked to extend the prayer for Ukraine and the struggle for truth.

"As the UCCRO, we are really brought together like children who gather from everywhere when their mother is sick. Pope Francis used this analogy during our meeting this morning. We are different, but our Mother is Ukraine. We asked the Pope to continue praying for Ukraine and the struggle for truth," Epiphanius said on Twitter.