Overview

• Zelenskiy met Pope Leo XIV at Castel Gandolfo, where the pontiff reiterated the Vatican’s willingness to host Ukraine-Russia peace talks, a proposal rejected only by Moscow.
• He held discussions with U.S. Special Envoy Keith Kellogg about resumed U.S. defensive weapons shipments, air-defense systems like Patriot batteries, sanctions on Russia.
• In talks with President Sergio Mattarella, Zelenskiy secured Italian backing for Ukraine’s sovereignty, private recovery investments, the creation of a Special Tribunal for Russia’s crime of aggression.
• The fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, starting July 10, aims to raise around €500 billion for reconstruction over the next decade based on World Bank estimates.
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will open the conference, which is expected to draw European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.