Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported on March 22 that he had spoken with Pope Francis and said that he would welcome Vatican mediation in an effort to end the war with Russia.

According to Zelenskyy’s account, the Pope said that he understood Ukraine’s military resistance, saying that “you must defend yourselves; soldiers and civilians defend their country.” If accurate, that statement would appear to conflict with the Pope’s recent public claim that, “There is no such thing as a just war.”

The Ukrainian leader said that he had described to the Pope the suffering Ukrainian civilians, and the Pontiff had expressed his sympathy.