ISTANBUL

Ukraine’s top diplomat on Sunday harshly criticized Pope Francis for calling on his nation to have “the courage to raise the white flag,” implicitly calling for its surrender to Russian forces.

"The strongest is the one who, in the battle between good and evil, stands on the side of good rather than attempting to put them on the same footing and call it 'negotiations’,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on X about the pope's remarks, made in an interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI.

“At the same time, when it comes to the white flag, we know this Vatican's strategy from the first half of the twentieth century," he added, appearing to refer to collaboration between some members of the Catholic Church and the Nazi regime.

"I urge to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and to support Ukraine and its people in their just struggle for their lives," said Kuleba.

Evoking Ukraine’s own flag, he added: "Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags.”

Kuleba also said: "We thank His Holiness Pope Francis for his constant prayers for peace, and we continue to hope that after two years of devastating war in the heart of Europe, the Pontiff will find an opportunity to pay an Apostolic visit to Ukraine to support over a million Ukrainian Catholics, over five million Greek-Catholics, all Christians, and all Ukrainians."

Other European leaders also took exception to Francis’ remarks, including his apparent lack of criticism of Russia, which launched the war on Ukraine over two years ago.