Pope Leo XIV on Sunday renewed his appeal for an end to the war in Ukraine, decrying recent Russian attacks that have killed noncombatants and damaged civilian infrastructure.

“With a sorrowful heart,” the pontiff said Sunday, “I have followed the news of the latest violent attacks that have recently struck several cities and civilian infrastructures in Ukraine, causing the deaths of innocent people.”

The pope was speaking to pilgrims and tourists gathered for the traditional Angelus prayer on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported at least one person and wounded at least 10 others in Russian attacks overnight between Saturday and Sunday, while a Ukrainian drone reportedly struck a vehicle in Russia, killing one person and gravely injuring another.

In the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, air raid sirens have been blaring almost constantly, while emergency services reported other deaths and injuries from Russian strikes in several regions.

“My heart goes out to the suffering people, who for years have lived in anguish and fear,” the pontiff said.

“I renew my appeal to put an end to the violence, to stop the destruction and to open hearts to dialogue and peace,” Leo said, hoping “that the efforts undertaken in these days to resume negotiations will bear concrete fruit and open space for diplomacy.”

U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Kyiv on Sunday, their first official visit to Ukraine as part of a renewed peace effort.

Their visit to the Ukrainian capital follows a Saturday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Also on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his government is ready for a “constructive” discussion with the U.S. envoys.

“We are interested in bringing the end of the war closer,” Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram.

“Peace is needed. Security guarantees are needed. A just and sustainable postwar peace is needed,” Zelenskyy said.

“Our proposals are prepared,” the Ukrainian president also said.

Late last month, the Vatican’s foreign minister was in Moscow for talks with senior officials, and called for an end to the war.

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The Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, told Russian officials the bloody conflict between Russia and Ukraine must end – and that it can’t be resolved through military means.

In Moscow this week for a series of meetings from August 24 to 28, Gallagher appeared with his counterpart, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, and spoke with reporters in the Russian capital.

“The position of the Holy See is clear,” Gallagher said, “the conflict cannot be resolved by military means” and “it is essential to create the conditions for a political and diplomatic process.”

“To be clear,” Gallagher said, “this war must end.”

“Let us raise our prayers to the Lord,” Leo said Sunday, “that concord may prevail in all the conflicts of the world.”

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