MIRIAM NNOLI 
Pope Francis delivers his Christmas Urbi et Orbi blessing in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican on December 25, 2022. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)
Pope Francis on Wednesday marked 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine calling it a shameful disaster for humanity.
The pope made this remark at the end of his weekly general audience at the Vatican attended by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska and the First Ladies of Armenia, Lithuania and Serbia.
“Yesterday marked 1,000 days since the invasion of Ukraine. A tragic anniversary for the victims and the destruction it has caused.
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“But at the same time, it is a shameful disaster for all humanity,” he stated.
He expressed his closeness to the martyred Ukrainian people and called for efforts so that weapons give way to dialogue.
Francis then read a letter addressed to him by a Ukrainian student in which he described the war and how people were suffering.
Recall that, Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022 and since then, the pope has frequently called for an end to the conflict.
