Praise Of The Sacrifice Of The Ukrainians, Pope Francis: So Honorable And Dead Syahid

Pope Francis. (Wikimedia Commons/Paris Orlando)

JAKARTA - Pope Francis is thinking of taking action to use nuclear weapons is "crazy", as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West he would not bully about possible use of nuclear weapons.

Pope Francis, speaking in public for a general audience in St. Peter's Square, also said Ukrainians were targeted by barbarity, atrocities, and torture, calling them martyrs "mans".

The Pope also praised Kazakhstan, the country he visited last week, for daring to hand over his nuclear weapons since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

"It's brave. At a time in this tragic war where some people think of nuclear weapons, which is crazy, the country said 'no' to nuclear weapons from the start," the Pope said.

President Putin ordered Russia's first mobilization since World War Two, supporting plans to annex most of Ukraine, warning the West that he would not bully when he said he was ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia.

The Pope, who did not name Russia or Putin, told many about the conversations he had on Tuesday with Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, his chief charity who provided assistance in Ukraine.

Vatican media said Krajewski, who is a Polish national, had to run and take cover after receiving a light fire last week, while providing assistance with a Catholic bishop, a Protestant bishop and a Ukrainian soldier.

It said he also visited mass graves outside Izium, located in the northeastern region of Ukraine.

"He (Krajewski) told me about the pain of these people, the barbaric act, the horror, adequate body they found. Let's unite with these people, so noble and martyred", Pope said.

Earlier, Ukrainian officials said they had found hundreds of bodies, some with their hands tied behind their backs, buried in territory captured again from Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the discovery evidence of war crimes.

Russia itself has consistently denied its forces have committed war crimes since invading Ukraine in February.

On Monday, the Kremlin rejected allegations of such abuse in Kharkiv's territory, where Izium resides, as a lie.

Separately, of the 111 bodies of civilians excavated on Wednesday, four showed signs of torture, Serhiy Bolvinov, chief of investigative police in the Kharkiv area, told Reuters at the burial site.