Overview

• In a cordial meeting at Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV and President Zelenski emphasized the need for dialogue and just peace processes to end hostilities.
• President Zelenski is in Rome to co-chair the IV International Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
• Earlier on July 9, Russia launched its largest single-day drone and missile attack since 2022, deploying 741 aerial vehicles against Ukraine.
• Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Tatiana Moskalkova, sent a letter to Pope Leo XIV requesting assistance in repatriating Russian citizens detained in Ukraine.
• The Vatican’s latest mediation push follows Pope Leo XIV’s June call with President Putin and builds on previous Vatican-brokered prisoner exchanges and child repatriations.