Pope Leo XIV demonstrates competent diplomatic leadership calling President Zelensky and Vladimir Putin to ask for peace

Pope Leo XIV spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call Wednesday afternoon. Reported in the Catholic News Agency by Madalaine Elhabbal. 

Ukraine President Zelenskyy released this picture taken during his call with Pope Leo XIV

“The pope made an appeal for Russia to take a gesture that would favor peace, emphasizing the importance of dialogue to create positive contacts between the parties and seek solutions to the conflict,” Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni said in a statement.

Bruni told members of the press that the Holy Father appealed to the Russian leader about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and advocated for the facilitation of aid into affected areas.

The two leaders also discussed Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi’s efforts to facilitate prisoner exchanges.

“I carry in my heart the sufferings of the beloved Ukrainian people,” Pope Leo had said after singing the Regina Coeli prayer with approximately 100,000 people.

“May everything possible be done to reach an authentic, just, and lasting peace, as soon as possible,” the Holy Father continued.

At the time, Zelenskyy shared a photo on X *of him purportedly having a telephone call with Pope Leo. 

After expressing gratitude to the Holy Father “for his support for Ukraine and all our people,” Zelenskyy said he and the pope specifically discussed the plight of thousands of children deported by Russia.

“Ukraine counts on the Vatican’s assistance in bringing them home to their families,” he added.

Reiterating Ukraine’s commitment to work toward a “full and unconditional ceasefire” and the end of the war with Russia, Ukraine’s president said he also invited the Holy Father “to make an apostolic visit to Ukraine.”

The final Easter message delivered by Pope Francis the day before his death included a prayer for the embattled country: “May the risen Christ grant Ukraine, devastated by war, his Easter gift of peace and encourage all parties involved to pursue efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace.”

Speaking with Putin, Pope Leo made reference to Patriarch Kirill, thanking him for the congratulations received at the beginning of his pontificate, and underlined how shared Christian values can be a light that helps to seek peace, defend life, and pursue genuine religious freedom,” Bruni added.

“Gratitude was expressed to the pontiff for his readiness to help settle the crisis, in particular the Vatican’s participation in resolving difficult humanitarian issues on a depoliticized basis,” the Kremlin said in a statement following the call, according to Reuters.

The Kremlin’s statement further said Putin stressed his belief to the Holy Father “that the Kyiv regime is banking on escalating the conflict and is carrying out sabotage against civilian infrastructure sites on Russian territory.”

Pope Leo XIV’s first call with Putin comes just over three weeks after his first call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on May 12. At the time, Bruni confirmed the two leaders had spoken after the pope expressed concern for Ukraine during his May 11, Sunday address.

*We also discussed the thousands of Ukrainian children deported by Russia. Ukraine counts on the Vatican’s assistance in bringing them home to their families. I informed the Pope about the agreement between Ukraine and our partners that, starting today, a full and unconditional ceasefire for at least 30 days must begin. I also reaffirmed Ukraine’s readiness for further negotiations in any format, including direct talks — a position we have repeatedly emphasised. Ukraine wants to end this war and is doing everything to achieve that. We now await similar steps from Russia.

Drone attack on the Kremlin in Moscow

So, Who Was Behind That Drone Attack on Putin?

It might remain a mystery, but let’s review all the theories.

Echo essay published in SLATE by Fred Kaplan.

A still image taken from video shows a flying object exploding near the dome of the Kremlin on May 2. 

So, who fired two drones at the Kremlin in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, and what does the act say about the course of the war in Ukraine?

The whole business is a mystery, and may remain so forever, except to those who did the deed. The two questions are, of course, related; the intended impact on the war depends on who launched the weapons. But, there might also be separate impacts, depending on who the combatants think fired the shots. So, it may be worth scurrying down the rabbit holes of straight or madcap logic to examine the possibilities.

Russian officials point their fingers at Ukraine and say the attack was an attempted assassination of President Vladimir Putin—thus giving Moscow leave to respond in kind, i.e., to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Some observers see the claim (which Ukrainian officials deny) as evidence that the drones may have been a “false flag operation”—an attack concocted by Putin and his cronies in a way that would miss Putin (or any other Russian) but give them an excuse to kill Zelensky.

Putin has some history with false flags. In 1999, just after President Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin prime minister, several buildings were bombed in Moscow and other Russian cities. 

As was later learned, the culprits were Russian state secret police officers trying to whip up popular frenzy against Muslim terrorists—which is exactly what Putin proceeded to do, using the attacks as an excuse to step up the war in Chechnya. The operation, often likened to the Nazis’ Reichstag fire, propelled Putin’s ascension to the Kremlin’s helm after Yeltsin stepped down.

For this week’s drones, though, the false flag theory seems a stretch. Putin has already tried to kill Zelensky several times; he needs no contrived rationalization to try again, or to escalate his violence against any other target in Ukraine. He has managed to escalate plenty on his own.

Drones over the Kremlin also create the impression that the war has made all Russians everywhere, even the Russian state’s top leaders, vulnerable—and that can’t be a good feeling for people who look to their leader to keep them, at the very least, secure.

It’s possible that Putin’s megalomania has reached such heights that he thinks his own endangerment at the hands of Ukrainian murderers would whip the Russian people into a frenzy of patriotism and renewed support of the war. Perhaps, but there’s no sign the war is in need of such renewal; his absolute rule, control of national media, suppression of all critics, and ability to mobilize an endless stream of new recruits seem to be giving him all the support he needs.

Still, who knows how Putin’s mind works? In the realm of that dark catacomb, the craziest schemes might be mistaken for masterstrokes.

Another possibility is that the drones were fired by Russian rebels—either ordinary citizens critical of the war or dissident military officers. Most citizens opposed to the war, and to Putin, have either gone into exile or been locked up in jails, but a few adventurous saboteurs may well have stayed behind to wreak what havoc they can manage. It has long been reported that many career officers are leery of the war—some from its beginning, more as its disastrous course has killed or maimed so many of their brightest soldiers and spoiled the fruits of two decades of military reform. 

If either of these groups is keen to weaken Putin, it wouldn’t hurt to expose the skies over the Kremlin as porous.

FBI legal search of Mar-A-L ago recovered stolen White House documents

Atlantic report "Retaining classified documents is not even close to the worst thing Trump has done. We are, after all, speaking of a man who twice tried to subvert the democratic process, first by using foreign aid in an attempt to blackmail Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into falsely implicating then–Democratic rival Joe Biden in a crime, and later by attempting to use a mob to seize power by force after bureaucratic means failed. But those were both overtly political acts, subject to distortions of perception and emphasis, and this one is rather more straightforward. It is illegal to “knowingly” remove “such documents or materials without authority and with the intent to retain such documents or materials at an unauthorized location.”- Adam Serwer

Letter to the Editor published in the Santa Cruz Sentinel in Green Valley California:

Dear Editor:  Some right wing extremists that follow the Trumpziism cult are wrongly equating the legally conducted search on the Mar-a-Lago golf club as a raid and the definition of evil. 

But, here is the truth: A search warrant, approved by two governmental agencies, Department Of Justice and a federal judge that showed enough evidence to get the warrant, not Biden. 

CNN- The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) negotiated with former President Donald Trump throughout 2021, to recover documents that he (illegally) took to Mar-a-Lago while leaving the White House.

In fact, Trump was served the warrant along with a list of what the FBI was looking to retrieve, per federal law. He could tell us but would rather use the situation to fundraise. They did not raid the home. FBI called Secret Service more than two hours ahead to let them know they would be arriving. Twelve boxes were removed from the basement; this search warrant pertained to classified government property taken when Trump left the White House.

The Guardian: The Department of Justice has released redacted photographs of documents seized during the search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

The National Archives have been trying since Trump left office to get items returned. These 12 boxes now add to the 15 boxes retrieved earlier this year.

— Opinion letter from Donita Adams, in Santa Cruz California

Russian people must remove Vladimir Putin

Russian people must stop Putin!

Echo opinion letter published in the News-Press, a newspaper in Fort Myers, Florida.

Russian people must be reached.

Russian-Ukraine unprovoked invasion

Indeed, the Russian people are the ones who now allow this man to bring us to the brink, close to nuclear war, to where we are.

Yes, Putin may have the support of some of his military and of his police; but it's the people as a whole who have the power. Just as they did, the day before, in Germany in 1939 and in Japan in 1940.

American leadership has chosen to take the path of peace, by way of avoiding direct conflict. I think that most in America believe that is the right path, but I believe that message is not reaching the Russian people. It hasn't reached the Russian, who stands just behind Putin, his YES men, his support, nor the Russian soldier.

Evil Vladimir Putin continues to order devastating unprovoked attacks on Mariupaul, Ukraine

It is clear, that man has gone beyond the pale: "Outside the limits of acceptable behavior or judgment."

We give our wealth and some means of defense. The Ukrainian people give their homes, their heritage, their lives, their all.

It's up to the Russian people to now save everything. This in which most of us believe; a chance of life on this beautiful planet.

It's now time for the Russian people to stand up and say, "Let's roll!"

We need you, our media to get them the message!

Paul A. Sloan, 1Sgt., USA (Ret), Cape Coral