VATICAN CITY, Holy See -- Pope Francis on Sunday condemned the "cruel and senseless" war in Ukraine, where "barbarous" acts were "destroying the future".
"More than a month has gone by since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, of the beginning of this cruel and senseless war," the pope said at the end of the Angelus prayer.
"War does not devastate the present only, but the future of a society as well," he said, pointing to the fact that one in two Ukrainian children have been displaced.
"This means destroying the future, causing dramatic trauma in the smallest and most innocent among us.
"This is the bestiality of war -- a barbarous and sacrilegious act!" the pontiff said from his residence to pilgrims gathered at St Peter's Square.
Pope Francis has called for an end to the conflict on more than one occasion and has condemned the "massacre" in Ukraine.