Pope Francis, ramping up his implicit criticism of Russia, on Friday called the war in Ukraine a "perverse abuse of power" waged for partisan interests which has condemned defenceless people to violence.
The pope has not actually named Russia in his condemnations but he has used phrases such as "unacceptable armed aggression" to get his point across and on Friday spoke of "people defending their land" and escaping bombardments.
"The tragedy of the war taking place in the heart of Europe has left us stunned," he said, adding that few people would have imagined scenes similar to the two world wars in the 20th century.