Zelensky presented the pope with a special icon, "Mother of God with Child," painted on a fragment of a box that held heavy artillery in the war-torn town of Izium.

President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on May 18, following the pontiff's inauguration mass, according to Vatican News. According to Sky News, the Ukrainian president is also scheduled to have a private meeting with the Pope this afternoon.

Ukraine’s president was among the dignitaries and world leaders in St. Peter’s Square after the pope proposed the Vatican as a venue for peace talks.