Vatican News
Visit to a prisoner of war camp
Card. Zuppi visited a camp for Ukrainian soldiers, where he spoke with the prisoners, conveying a message in which the Pope expressed his closeness to those detained and his hope that they will soon return home.
During the 3-day visit, the hierarch was accompanied by the Apostolic Nuncio to Moscow, Archbishop Giovanni d’Aniello.
According to Vatican News, Card. Zuppi met with Yuri Ushakov, foreign policy advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks focused on the situation of prisoners of war and other detainees, the search for missing persons, family reunification, and the repatriation of minors.
Family reunification
The Cardinal also met with Yana Lantratova, a member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, who thanked the cardinal “for a constructive approach”, and with Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights.
“It is necessary,” the hierarch said, “to strengthen and accelerate the necessary checks to ensure family reunification.”
This was the papal envoy’s third mission to Russia. In July of last year, Card. Zuppi traveled to Ukraine, where he visited prisoner of war camps for Russian soldiers in the Lviv region.
