Pope kisses Ukrainian flag, condemns massacre

Rome: Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned "the massacre of Bucha" and kissed a Ukrainian flag sent from the town where tied bodies shot at close range littered the streets after Russian troops withdrew and bodies poked out of a mass grave at a church.

The deaths in Bucha, outside Kyiv, have triggered a global outcry and pledges of further sanctions against Moscow from the West. Follow |liveRussia-Ukraine War News Live Updates: Two civilians killed in Russian strike on Ukrainian aid distribution point, says Donetsk governor.

"Recent news from the war in Ukraine, instead of bringing relief and hope, brought new atrocities, such as the massacre of Bucha," Francis said at the end of his weekly audience in the Vatican's auditorium. "Stop this war! Let the weapons fall silent! Stop sowing death and destruction," he said.