New Delhi: Pope Francis has said the Hungarian Prime Minister told him that Russia intends to end its invasion of Ukraine on 9 May, its Victory Day.
Victory Day is celebrated in Russia to commemorate the triumph of the allied forces over Nazi Germany in 1945.
The 85-year-old pontiff told Italian paper Corriere della Serra that Hungarian premier Victor Orban told him this during their meeting in late April.
“When I met him, he told me that the Russians have a plan, that everything will be over on 9 May,” Pope Francis said.
“This would also explain the speed of the escalation these days. Because now it’s not just the Donbas, it’s Crimea, it’s Odesa, it’s taking away the Black Sea port from Ukraine, it’s everything.”
Francis also said he had asked for a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow three weeks into the invasion. “I was willing to go to Moscow. Certainly, it was necessary for the Kremlin leader to allow an opening. We have not yet received a response and we are still insisting,” he said.
He added: “I fear that Putin cannot, and does not, want to have this meeting at this time. But how can you not stop so much brutality?”
This is the first time that the Pope has publicly mentioned Russia or Putin since the start of the conflict on 24 February.
When asked about a visit to Ukraine, the Pope said: “First, I have to go to Moscow, first I have to meet Putin… I do what I can. If Putin would only open a door.”
Meanwhile, western officials have told CNN that Russia could formally declare war on Ukraine as soon as 9 May.
The report said: “Western officials have long believed that Putin would leverage the symbolic significance and propaganda value of that day to announce either a military achievement in Ukraine, a major escalation of hostilities — or both.”
So far, Putin has called the months-long conflict a “special military operation” for a supposed “de-Nazification” of Ukraine.
A formal declaration of war on May 9 “could potentially bolster public support for the invasion”, the report said, adding, “It would also, under Russian law, allow Putin to mobilise reserve forces and draft conscripts, which officials say Russia desperately needs amid a growing manpower shortage.”
Western and Ukrainian officials have said at least 10,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the war since 24 February.
Other 9 May options include annexing the breakaway territories of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, making a major push for Odesa in the south, or declaring full control over the southern port city of Mariupol, the report said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov similarly told Italian broadcaster Mediaset Sunday that 9 May would not have any bearing on the pace of its operations in Ukraine.
He said Russia would not rush to wrap up its “special military operation” next week. He said: “Our military will not artificially adjust their actions to any date, including Victory Day.”
Lavrov said: “The pace of the operation in Ukraine depends, first of all, on the need to minimise any risks for the civilian population and Russian military personnel.”
Russia celebrates Victory Day with a large military parade in Moscow and a speech by Vladimir Putin.
Lavrov said Victory Day would be celebrated as they always do – “remembering those who fell for the liberation of Russia… for the liberation of Europe from the Nazi plague.”
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