Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that he held a conversation with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew while traveling to attend the G7 Summit.
In a statement shared on social media, Zelensky expressed his gratitude to the Ecumenical Patriarch for his continued support of Ukraine and for what he described as the Patriarch’s “unequivocal moral stance” regarding Russia’s ongoing attacks against Ukrainian religious and cultural heritage.
The Ukrainian President specifically referred to recent Russian drone strikes targeting the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of the most revered Orthodox monasteries in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“Russia’s drone strikes on the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra – a holy site not only of Ukraine, but of the Orthodox world as a whole – are barbarism for which there can be no justification,” Zelensky stated, while thanking the Ecumenical Patriarch for his clear condemnation of such actions.
According to Zelensky, the discussion also included possible formats for future in-person meetings between the two leaders. The Ukrainian President extended an invitation to Patriarch Bartholomew to visit Ukraine.
“I invited His All-Holiness to Ukraine,” Zelensky noted, adding that he remains grateful for the Ecumenical Patriarch’s prayers for Ukraine and its people amid the continuing challenges posed by the war.
The Ecumenical Patriarch has repeatedly expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, calling for peace, respect for human dignity, and the protection of religious and cultural heritage.
