Pope Francis’ suggestion that Ukraine choose “the courage of the white flag” has drawn harsh criticism from Ukraine. “When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you must have the courage to negotiate,” Francis said during an interview, recorded a month ago by Switzerland’s RSI and broadcast on television this Saturday. Since the publication of the Pontiff’s words, there has been a wave of reactions from public figures and citizens of Ukraine who have described it as “immorality” to ask a victim of aggression to “surrender”, instead of urging the aggressor, Russia, to stop its attacks. “Our flag is yellow and blue. This is the flag by which we live, die and prevail. We will never raise any other flag,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmitro Kuleba, this Sunday in a message published on his social networks.
He hasn’t been the only one. Other voices have stressed that Ukraine is defending itself and that Russia offers no options other than complete surrender. “Surrender means Russian occupation, which is nothing more than another form of war,” lamented Oleksandra Matviichuk, director of the Center for Civil Liberties, an organization that will win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 and which has documented war crimes. of Russia in Ukraine. “Russian occupation means torture, sexual violence, forced disappearance, denial of your identity, forced adoption of your own children, filtration camps and mass graves,” Matviichuk added in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Ukraine is wounded, but not conquered. Ukraine is exhausted, but it stands and perseveres. In Ukraine, no one thinks about surrendering! And to all those who view our capacity for resistance with skepticism, we say: Come to Ukraine and see!” said Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of Kiev-Galitzia and all Rus’, without directly referring to the words of Pontiff, who since the beginning of the Russian aggression has not visited Ukraine.
The European Union delegation to the Holy See has also reacted to the Pope’s comments. “Russia started an illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine two years ago. And it can end this war immediately, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Alexandra Valkenburg, European ambassador to the Holy See, published. To which she added that the EU supports Ukraine and its peace plan, which involves not ceding territories to Moscow. For its part, the Ukrainian legation to the Vatican has highlighted that “no one spoke of peace negotiations with Hitler.”
The Polish Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, also called this Sunday on the Pope to encourage Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. “How about, to balance, encourage [presidente ruso, Vladímir] Putin, to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine? Peace would come immediately without the need for negotiations,” he wrote in a message on his X account, accompanied by a video with Francis’ statements.
From the Vatican, the director of communications of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni, has issued a statement in which he clarifies that when Francis used the term “white flag” he was referring to a “cessation of hostilities; a truce reached with the courage of negotiation.” Bruni has repeated the Pontiff’s request to seek “a diplomatic solution in search of a just and lasting peace.”
72% of Ukrainians believe that the country should combine diplomatic and military means to stop the conflict, according to a survey carried out in February by the Kiev Institute of Sociology. This study found that, after more than two years of invasion, optimism has decreased among Ukrainians, although 80% of them still believe in victory. Furthermore, 65% are convinced that Ukraine will be able to regain control over all territories occupied by Russia.
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