On Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV said the situation in Eastern Europe is “very tense” after Russia sent a swarm of drones into Poland.

Last week’s event has been called an “unprecedented violation” of NATO airspace by member states of the alliance.

“As our continent once again faces the egregious expansion of Russia’s reckless behaviour, defence of Ukraine against Putin’s aggression is crucial to the security of the whole of Europe, including the UK,” said a representative of the British foreign office.

“The response of NATO forces demonstrates the seriousness with which NATO is treating Russia’s actions. And as the Secretary General announced on Friday, alongside NATO Allies we are bolstering our defences along the eastern flank, using new technologies such as counter-drone sensors and weapons,” the representative said.

Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russia has been making slow advances in Ukraine, but is suffering huge casualties, as are the Ukrainians.

“Russia should understand that its continued aggression only strengthens the unity between NATO allies and our determination to stand with Ukraine, and any further incursions will again be met with force. Russia must end its illegal war on Ukraine,” the British representative said.

Speaking on Tuesday evening to reporters, Pope Leo said, “NATO has not started any war.”

“The Poles are worried because they feel their airspace has been violated; it is a very tense situation,” the pontiff said.

Pope Leo has shown strong support for Ukraine since his election on May 8.

He has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky twice, and called the Russian attack on Ukraine “senseless.”

Many see this a shift from the views of his predecessor, Pope Francis.

In 2022, Francis said someone told him NATO “are barking at the gates of Russia.”

“I am simply against reducing complexity to the distinction between good guys and bad guys, without reasoning about roots and interests, which are very complex,” he said in an interview with La Civiltà Cattolica.

“Someone may say to me at this point: But you are pro-Putin! No, I am not,” Francis said.

Pope Leo was asked about the situation in Ukraine in an interview with Crux’s Rome bureau chief, Elise Ann Allen.

She asked him how realistic is it for the Vatican to be a mediator in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which the pope said was unrealistic.

“I’d make a distinction in terms of the voice of the Holy See in advocating for peace and a role as mediator, which I think is very different and is not as realistic as the first one,” Leo said in July.

“I think that people have heard the different appeals I’ve made in terms of raising my voice, the voice of Christians, and the people of goodwill, saying that peace is the only answer. The useless killing after these years of people on both sides – in that particular conflict, but in other conflicts – I think people have to somehow be wakened up to say, there’s another way to do this,” he added.

“To think of the Vatican as a mediator, even the couple of times that we have offered to host meetings of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, either in the Vatican or some other church property, I’m very well aware of what the implications of that are,” Leo continued.

“The Holy See, since the war began, has made great efforts to maintain a position that, as difficult as it might be, [is not] one side or the other, but truly neutral. Some things I’ve said have been interpreted in one way or the other, and that’s alright, but I think that the realistic part of it is not primary right now. I think a number of different actors have to push hard enough to make the parties that are at war say, enough is enough, and let’s look for another way to solve our differences,” he said.

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