Name: Pope Leo XIV meets with rescued Ukrainian children
Uploaded: 2025-11-22T17:19:22.879Z
Duration: 1 min 43 s
Description: Pope Leo XIV met with some of the rescued Ukrainian children who were kidnapped by Russian forces throughout the war as the Vatican ramps up its efforts to get all of the nearly 20,000 abducted kids home to Ukraine.

Pope Leo XIV met with some of the rescued Ukrainian children who were kidnapped by Russian forces throughout the war as the Vatican ramps up its efforts to get all of the nearly 20,000 abducted kids home to Ukraine.

Rome

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Pope Leo XIV held a meeting at the Vatican with Ukrainian children who were rescued after being taken during the siege of Mariupol. Among them was Sashko Radchuk, who recounted his experience of being wounded, held in a Russian-controlled hospital, and nearly adopted by a Russian family before being rescued by his grandmother.

The meeting was attended by U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, who described the situation as an attempt to erase children's identities and culture. Ukrainian officials report that thousands of their citizens, including children, remain captive, and Radchuk's mother is still missing. Radchuk delivered a message to the pope, asking for help in bringing his mother home.

Pope Leo XIV meets with rescued Ukrainian children

When the Ukrainian city of Mariupol came under siege three years ago, Sashko Radchuk was just 12 years old. We were told to surrender, and at that moment I understood that all of Mariupol was already under occupation. He was seriously wounded in the eye and taken to a Russian-controlled hospital. Radchuk soon learned his future no longer belonged to him. They kept telling me they would send me to a school or I would be adopted. So you were warned that you would either be an orphan or you would be adopted to a Russian family? Yes. His only hope, his grandmother, Lyudmila Syryk. If not me, who, she said, and she did it all by bus. When my grandmother arrived, it was incredible. And not a moment too soon, Russia was on the brink of stripping Radchuk of who he was, says Senator Amy Klobuchar, who attended the Vatican meeting. It's kidnapping of kids, and then it's trying to rid them of their culture and their homeland. That's what it is. This sounds like brainwashing. It's a very bad thing. Ukraine says thousands of its citizens, not just kids, remain captive. That includes Radchuk's mother, he says, missing since the day he was captured. The boy's message to the pope is simple. Bring my mother home. For CBS Saturday Morning, Chris Livesay, Rome.

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Pope Leo XIV meets with rescued Ukrainian children

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Ukraine Invasion