VATICAN CITY, Dec 25, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Pope Francis called Wednesday for an end to the war in Ukraine and for talks for a just peace as the country was pummelled by 170 Russian missiles and drones on Christmas morning.

"May the sound of arms be silenced in war-torn Ukraine," he said in his traditional Christmas address in Rome. "May there be the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation and to gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace."