Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with Pope Leo XIV and thanked him for the Vatican’s efforts to help return children taken by Russia during the war.

Pope Leo XIV welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the pope’s summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, about an hour south of Rome, to discuss peacemaking efforts in Ukraine, which has been ravaged by war since Russia’s invasion of the country in February 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters he was “relying heavily on the Vatican” in peace efforts with Russia, which initiated a full-scale invasion of the country in 2022.