Originally published at National Catholic Register
As the brutal fighting in Ukraine approaches its third winter with no end in sight, the Vatican has once again dispatched Italian Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi to push for peace.
Cardinal Zuppi, who is Pope Francis’ special envoy to Ukraine, embarked on his second visit to Moscow on Monday, where he will “assess further efforts to facilitate the reunification of Ukrainian children with their families and the exchange of prisoners, with a view to achieving the much-hoped-for peace,” according to Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office.
One million people have now either died or been injured as result of the conflict in Ukraine, according to recent estimates, including 200,000 dead Russians and 80,000 dead Ukrainians. Ukrainian infrastructure has also been severely damaged, as long-range Russian missile strikes on the Ukrainian power grid have knocked out 70% of nation’s energy-generation capacity, according to the United Nations — a fact that could cause millions to flee their homes in the brutal cold of the approaching Ukrainian winter.
Neither side has appeared willing thus far to curb their demands to begin the process of negotiated peace. As preconditions for any peace talks, Ukraine has insisted that Russian troops leave the
