Pope Francis and the Ukrainian president met for 40 minutes at the Vatican. It is the first time the two have met since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict.
The Pope gave the president a work of art and a message of peace. The meeting comes as a new offensive is planned by the Ukrainian army against the Russian army in the east of the country, near the border with Russia. The Russian army is expected to launch an offensive in the next few days to take back control of parts of the east.