President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy indirectly criticized the Pope for his statements about "courage, courage to raise the white flag and negotiate."

The Pope made this statement in an interview with the Swiss broadcaster RSI, which he gave in February and an excerpt from which was published on Saturday, March 9. He said, answering a journalist’s question, that he considers the one "who looks at the situation, thinks about the people, and has the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate" to be stronger than anyone else.

"Russian murderers and torturers are not moving further into Europe only because they are being held back by Ukrainians with weapons in their hands and under the blue and yellow flag. In Ukraine, there were many once-white walls of houses and churches that are now scorched and ruined by Russian shells. And this speaks very eloquently about who has to stop for the war to end," Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday.

He thanked "every Ukrainian chaplain who is with the army, in the Defense Forces. They are on the frontline, protecting life and humanity, supporting with prayer, conversation, and deeds. This is what the church is – it is together with people, not two and a half thousand kilometers away somewhere, virtually mediating between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you."

"I thank everyone who is doing everything in Ukraine and with Ukraine to save lives, I thank everyone who is helping and who is really with us through actions and prayers," Zelenskyy said.