On the eve of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Pope Leo made “a heartfelt” appeal: “Let the weapons fall silent, let the bombings cease, let an immediate ceasefire be reached, and let dialogue be strengthened to pave the way toward peace.”

He called for an end to the war in Ukraine during his Angelus address to thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square at midday on Sunday, Feb. 22.

“Four years have passed since the beginning of the war against Ukraine,” he said, speaking from the papal study window on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace.

“My heartfelt thoughts remain focused on the tragic situation unfolding before the eyes of the whole world: so many victims, so many lives and families shattered, such immense destruction, such unspeakable suffering!” he said.

The war started on Feb. 24, 2022, when, on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, Russian armed forces invaded Ukraine, a sovereign nation that then had a population of 41 million people. Since then millions of Ukrainians have been displaced or fled as refugees into neighbouring countries in Europe.

Across Ukraine 3,712,000 people are still internally displaced as of Jan. 2026, and according to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, a further 5,349,060 people have found refuge across Europe as of January 2026.

“Every war is truly a wound inflicted upon the entire human family; it leaves in its wake death, devastation and a trail of pain that marks generations,” Pope Leo said.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “Despite claims of battlefield momentum in Ukraine, the data shows that Russia is paying an extraordinary price for minimal gains and is in decline as a major power. Since February 2022, Russian forces have suffered nearly 1.2 million casualties, more losses than any major power in any war since World War II.”  

“Ukrainian forces likely suffered somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000 casualties, including killed, wounded, and missing, and between 100,000 and 140,000 fatalities between February 2022 and December 2025,” according to CSIS.

“Peace cannot be postponed. It is an urgent necessity that must find a home in our hearts and be translated into responsible decisions,” the pope stated in his appeal today.

Leo has called for peace since his election as pope. He did so again today as he appealed to believers and people of good will worldwide to pray for an end to that war and for peace.

“I invite everyone to join in prayer for the martyred people of Ukraine and for all those who suffer due to this war and every conflict in the world, that the long-awaited gift of peace may shine upon our days,” he said.

In his efforts to promote peace, Leo has met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky three times face-to-face. They first met in the Vatican after the pope’s inauguration on May 18. They met for a second time at Villa Barberini in Castel Gandolfo on July 9.  Their latest meeting was at Castel Gandolfo on Dec.9. Mr. Zelensky has invited Pope Leo to visit Ukraine.

Like his predecessor Pope Francis, Leo has sent humanitarian aid from the Vatican to Ukraine and asked the Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi to continue the task given to him by Pope Francis to seek the return of the Ukrainian children taken from their homeland to Russia by Russian forces, and to work for the exchange of prisoners. He also has offered the Vatican as a place for negotiations between the two sides, an offer rejected by Russia.

Pope Leo XIV and Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke by phone on June 4, 2025, for the first time. Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See Press Office, told reporters after the Kremlin confirmed the news, that “The pope made an appeal for Russia to make a gesture that would favor peace, emphasizing the importance of dialogue to create positive contacts between the parties [in conflict] and seek solutions to the conflict.” 

Over the past four years, there have been several rounds of negotiations aimed at bringing an end to the war, including recent trilateral negotiations involving delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States, but so far they have been inconclusive. Pope Leo today called not only for “the strengthening of the dialogue” but also “a ceasefire” as the path to peace.

Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.