Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had thanked Pope Francis during a meeting in the Vatican Saturday for focusing on the plight of millions of Ukrainians after the Russian invasion.

"I am very grateful to him for his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians," Zelensky said on Telegram, adding that they had also discussed the fate of "tens of thousands of children" that Kyiv says were deported to Russia.