Pope Francis, on what he called an “Easter of war,” pleaded for peace in Ukraine and blasted Russia for pulling the country into a “cruel and senseless” conflict.

“May there be peace for war-torn Ukraine, so sorely tried by the violence and destruction of this cruel and senseless war into which it was dragged,” Francis said on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Square.

The 85-year-old pope had just finished celebrating Easter Mass in the square packed with people for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020. Applause erupted from the 50,000 people in the square at the mention of Ukraine.

He dedicated most of his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) address to Ukraine.

“Our eyes, too, are incredulous on this Easter of war. We have seen all too much blood, all too much violence. Our hearts, too, have been filled with fear and anguish, as so many of our brothers and sisters have had to lock themselves away in order to be safe from bombing,” he said.

Francis, who suffers from leg pain and gave most of the address while sitting, called on world leaders to “hear people’s plea for peace.”

“Let there be a decision for peace. May there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering,” Francis said.

“I hold in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground,” he added.

With Post wires