Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets pope as Ukraine retakes ground in Bakhmut

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has met Pope Francis for the first time since Russia’s invasion of his country.

The Ukrainian president was in Rome for a one-day whistle-stop visit, meeting Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and later at the Vatican, Pope Francis.

Images were published of the pontiff meeting Zelenskiy over a desk in a wood-panelled office within the Vatican.

Both…