A group of Ukrainian soldiers' wives and anti-Kremlin activist Pyotr Verzilov met Pope Francis Wednesday at the Vatican, asking him to intervene to "save the lives" of their loved ones battling Russian forces at Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant.

"We asked him to come to Ukraine, to talk to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, to tell him 'Let them go'. He just said he would pray for us," Kateryna Prokopenko told reporters after the brief encounter.

Her husband, Denis Prokopenko, is one of the leaders of the Azov regiment, a former far-right battalion turned National Guard unit who are leading the defence of the Azovstal steelworks in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.

The Ukrainians at the plant are the last pocket of resistance against the Russians, who now control Mariupol after weeks of siege.

"We hope that this meeting will just give us the chance to save their lives. We are ready for the actions of the pope, from his delegation, our soldiers are ready to be evacuated to a third country," Prokopenko said.

The women said their meeting with Pope Francis lasted around five minutes and took place after his weekly general audience on St Peter's Square.

Also in attendance was Verzilov, an associate of the punk group Pussy Riot and also publisher of Mediazona, an independent online publication which writes about court cases and abuses of prisoners' rights, among other subjects.

Yulia Fedosiuk, another member of the group of Ukrainian soldiers' wives, said they told the pope that "700 of our soldiers are injured, they have gangrene, amputations".

"Many of them are dead, we couldn't bury them, we asked the pope to help them, to be a third party in this war and to let them go through the (humanitarian) corridor," she said.

"He told us that he prays for us and that he is doing everything" he can.

She added that at the steelworks, "conditions are terrible there, no food, no water, no medical conditions -- the last hospital was destroyed by Russian bombs -- many dead soldiers".

Kyiv said on Tuesday that more than 1,000 of its troops, many of them injured, remained in the sprawling Azovstal plant, many sheltering in the labyrinth of Soviet-era bunkers and tunnels underground.

At the weekend, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said all women, children and elderly people had been evacuated from Azovstal as part of a humanitarian mission coordinated by the United Nations and the Red Cross.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

US takes first step to approve $40 bn in Ukraine aid
Washington (AFP) May 11, 2022
US lawmakers voted Tuesday to send a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, as Washington warned that Russia was likely girding for a long conflict with its neighbor. The defense, humanitarian and economic funding passed the House of Representatives by 368 votes to 57, with the two parties' leaders having already reached an agreement on the details. It will likely pass the Senate by the end of the week or next week. All the dissenting votes came from the Republican ranks. "With this aid package ... read more