Zelensky invites Pope Leo XIV to Ukraine in their first phone call

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Pope Leo XIV in their first phone call, Zelensky announced on May 12, calling the discussion "warm" and "substantive".

"I invited His Holiness to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine. Such a visit would bring real hope to all believers and to all our people," Zelensky said, adding that the two leaders plan to hold an in-person meeting in the near future, Kyiv Independent reported.

Ukraine's head of state said he had thanked the pontiff for his support for Ukraine and its people