Cardinal Zuppi returns from Russia

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi has returned from Moscow following his third mission to Russia. The special envoy for humanitarian issues and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference completed the three-day trip on September 30.

During the mission, Zuppi visited a detention camp for Ukrainian prisoners of war to deliver a message of closeness from Pope Leo XIV. His discussions focused on the situation of military and civilian prisoners, the search for missing persons, family reunification, and the repatriation of minors.

Zuppi met with several Russian officials, including Yuri Ushakov, an advisor to President Vladimir Putin on foreign policy, and Yana Lantratova, the Russian commissioner for human rights. He also met with Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children's rights. Lantratova thanked the cardinal for his constructive approach. The cardinal was accompanied during the visit by the apostolic nuncio in Moscow, Archbishop Giovanni d’Aniello.