Pope Francis Meets Wives of Ukrainian Soldiers Fighting in Mariupol

Pope Francis met the wives of two Ukrainian soldiers who are currently fighting to defend the besieged city of Mariupol. The meeting was held on Wednesday morning.

The Pope held the hands of the Ukrainian women, Kateryna Prokopenko, 27, and Yulya Fedosiuk, 29, after his general audience on 11 May.

Prokopenko is married to Ukrainian Lt. Col. Denis Prokopenko, the man currently leading the Ukrainian last stand to defend the Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol.

“You are our last hope. We hope that you can save their lives. Please don’t let them die,” Kateryna Prokopenko can be heard telling Pope Francis in a short video of their five-minute meeting.

After the audience, Prokopenko told journalists in St. Peter’s Square: “We hope that this meeting will just give us the chance to save their lives.”

“Now we are ready for the actions from the pope, from his delegation. And our soldiers are ready to be evacuated to a third country. They are ready to lay down their arms in case of evacuation to the third country.”

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