Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 10, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe Vatican embassy in Kyiv was damaged by Russian airstrikes, with drones and explosions reported. No injuries occurred, and peace talks are proposed.
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -The Vatican's embassy in Kyiv was slightly damaged during Russian attacks on the Ukrainian capital early on Thursday morning, the embassy said in a statement.
"During yet another attack on the city of Kyiv … this Apostolic Nunciature sustained some damage to the main building, as well as to service areas," the statement said, using the official Catholic term for the Vatican's diplomatic mission.
Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, the Vatican's ambassador to Ukraine, separately told official outlet Vatican News that he had witnessed drones circling around the embassy grounds and heard several explosions overnight.
Kulbokas said the attack damaged the embassy's roof and its parking garage.
"We collected around ten fairly large fragments, and I believe it was a drone rather than a missile," said the archbishop. "Thankfully, none of us was harmed. But it's striking, of course, to see explosions happening right nearby."
Russia's airstrikes in Ukraine came as an international conference on the three-year war was opening in Rome, at which Kyiv won billions of dollars in aid pledges.
Pope Leo met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday, and told him the Vatican would be willing to host Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
The Vatican has formal diplomatic relations with around 180 countries and maintains embassies in many world capitals. Its ambassadors are known for their devotion to remaining in post, even during war times, and rarely evacuate their embassies.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee, editing by Alvise Armellini, Alexandra Hudson)
The Vatican's embassy in Kyiv was slightly damaged during Russian attacks on the city early on Thursday morning.
Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas is the Vatican's ambassador to Ukraine.
The attack damaged the embassy's roof and its parking garage, with fragments suggesting a drone was involved.
The airstrikes coincided with an international conference in Rome where Kyiv secured billions of dollars in aid pledges.
Pope Leo met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and expressed the Vatican's willingness to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
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