Vatican: Pope condemns Russia's 'repugnant' war

ROME: The Vatican on Tuesday moved to defend Pope Francis from allegations he hasn't come down hard enough on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the pontiff clearly views the war launched by Moscow as "senseless, repugnant and sacrilegious."

Last week, Ukraine summoned the top papal diplomat to complain about recent comments by Francis. At an audience a day earlier at the Vatican, Francis had referred to a national Russian television commentator who was killed by a car bomb outside Moscow as a "poor girl."