Russia criticizes West after Pope Francis urges Ukraine to show ‘white flag’; zelensky smoke

Russia has directed Pope Francis’ appeal to Ukraine to the West after Volodymyr Zelensky rebuked the Pope for suggesting that the war-torn nation show a white flag to the Kremlin and negotiate an end to the war. Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that Russia is ready for talks to resolve the Ukraine crisis. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “The way I see it, the Pope is asking the West to put aside its ambitions and admit that it was wrong.” International news