Has Ukraine finally convinced Washington to stand by Kyiv's side?
Prevost, 69, who has taken the papal name Leo XIV, has close ties with them both, having grown up in Chicago and later lived for decades in Peru, first as a missionary and then as the bishop of the northern city of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.
After the dual US-Peruvian citizen was announced as the next leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday evening, following four rounds of voting in the conclave, people in the US and Peru spoke of their joy.
At the Frances Xavier Warde School in Chicago, Mary Perrotti, the director of advancement, said her pupils were elated by the elevation of a 'native son' to the papacy.
'Our students are just beside themselves. They're beyond excited and can't believe a Chicagoan is their new pope. They were in awe,' said Perrotti.
'Our young people have a model now of a leader with justice and compassion at the heart of his ministries — and who is from their home,' she added. 'It's such a deep feeling of connection for them.'
John Doughney, who was in the same year as Pope Leo XIV in school, remembered him as a 'friend to everyone' and as a 'kind, caring, compassionate young man'.
'Even when he was 12 and 13, it was apparent to all of us that he knew what his calling was,' he said. 'It would've shocked all of us if he didn't go into the priesthood. We're so proud of him.'
Thousands of miles south of Chicago, people rejoiced at the news in Peru, including in Chiclayo and in the capital Lima.
Pope Leo XIV may be the first American-born leader of the Catholic Church, but Peru, which gave him citizenship in 2015, also claims him as its own.
In his first address as pope from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica, he switched to Spanish to wish his former diocese well.
'Greetings…to all of you, and in particular, to my beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, where a faithful people have accompanied their bishop, shared their faith,' he said.
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte suggested that his election was a 'historic moment' for Peru.
'He chose to be one of us, to live among us, and to carry in his heart the faith, culture, and dreams of this nation,' she said, noting he was a Peruvian citizen by 'choice and conviction'.
The bells of Lima's cathedral tolled after his victory was announced.
'For us Peruvians, it is a source of pride that this is a pope who represents our country,' said teacher Isabel Panez. 'We would like him to visit us here in Peru,' she added.
Since the first presidential debates last year, Donald Trump refused to answer the question about how he saw the end of Russia's war in Ukraine.
He famously promised to end it within 24 hours, but he was less decisive when asked whether its end would mean Ukraine's victory.
Ever since, Kyiv has been trying to convince Trump to decide who to back — more specifically, to side with Ukraine.
From meeting Trump in New York in September 2024 before the presidential election to being accused of being a "dictator" and finally the unprecedentedly heated argument in the Oval Office in February, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been trying to convince the sitting US president that Ukraine is not an obstacle to a ceasefire, let alone any peace deal.
In late March, Ukraine agreed to a US-proposed immediate 30-day ceasefire in Russia's ongoing invasion, if the Kremlin adheres to the same terms.
Two months later, there is still no ceasefire in Ukraine, and Kyiv regularly reiterates that it is still ready for it at any moment, if Russia agrees.
In the meantime, Russia unilaterally announced two short periods of ceasefire: one over Easter and one now, around Moscow's Victory Parade day. Both times, the Kremlin violated its own truce and refused a counterproposal for an unconditional ceasefire for 30 days.
During this time, Ukraine finally managed to negotiate and sign the minerals deal with the US, and the Ukrainian parliament even ratified the partnership, giving the US access to profit from Ukraine's vast mineral resources.
Russia's cooperation with the US has not moved forward, and the only "compromise" Moscow reportedly was ready to accept was its readiness not to claim Ukraine's territories that Russia never controlled in the first place, such as large parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Ukraine seems to have tried almost everything to prove to the US that Kyiv is not an obstacle to a ceasefire, while at the same the same time increasing pressure on Russia, intensifying the drone attacks on Moscow region days before the Victory Day parade, paralyzing the airspace over Russia's capital exactly in the moment when President Vladimir Putin was expecting the high-level guests.
The strategy might have worked. On Thursday evening, Trump and Zelenskyy had a lengthy phone call to discuss the ratified minerals deal.
Ukraine's president later made a statement on X that wasn't about the minerals deal but again about Ukraine's commitment and willingness to an unconditional ceasefire.
'Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire starting right now, from this very moment — a 30-day silence," Zelenskyy said.
"But it must be real. No missile or drone strikes, no hundreds of assaults on the front. The Russians must respond appropriately – by supporting the ceasefire. They must prove their willingness to end the war.'
Zelenskyy used this opportunity to reiterate that this is not the first time Kyiv has made this offer. "Thirty days that could become the beginning of years of peace. A ceasefire, lasting and reliable, will be a real indicator of movement toward peace," he said.
Symbolically making this statement on Ukraine's Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism, Zelenskyy added: 'America can help with this. The world needs America now just as it did eighty years ago.'
Trump took to his Truth Social platform with a more moderate statement that the talks between Russia and Ukraine continue, indicating that Washington would be willing to settle for a shorter ceasefire lasting less than 30 days.
"The US calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Hopefully, an acceptable ceasefire will be observed, and both countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations," Trump posted.
"If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions," he stated in an apparent threat to the Kremlin, adding that "everybody should want it to stop."
'I do, and the United States of America does, also. As president, I will stay committed to securing peace between Russia and Ukraine, together with the Europeans, and a lasting peace it will be," Trump emphasised.
Trump then continued with a similar statement to Zelenskyy's: "It can all be done very quickly, and I will be available on a moment's notice if my services are needed."
Earlier, in a clear sign of increased frustration in Washington, US Vice President JD Vance said that Russia is asking for "too much" in its negotiations with Ukraine.
Speaking at a security conference in the US capital, he said that the White House is focused on getting the two sides to hold direct talks and even threatened that the US is ready to walk away.
'I wouldn't say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution," Vance said.
"What I would say is, right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they're asking for too much. Ok?"
The Kremlin clearly doesn't think it is asking for too much. On Thursday, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov admitted that Moscow "probably disappoints Washington" in some way.
"They disappoint us too, perhaps even more than we disappoint them, and for a long time', Ushakov continued, adding that the sides are nevertheless "heading toward a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin."
In the meantime, Putin is holding a different meeting in Moscow, hosting China's president Xi Jinping who is visiting Russia's capital for a bilateral meeting with Putin and participating in his Victory Day parade on Friday.
Prior to his arrival in Moscow, Xi Jinping wrote an article published in both Chinese and Russian media, drawing a parallel between modern-day US 'hegemony' and the 'arrogant fascist forces' of 80 years ago.
'The just forces of the world, including China and the Soviet Union, fought bravely and defeated the arrogant fascist forces side-by-side', he wrote.
'Eighty years later, unilateralism, hegemony and bullying are extremely harmful. Humanity is once again at the crossroads.'
In a joint statement after the talks on Thursday, Xi and Putin said that the war in Ukraine could only be resolved by removing its "root causes", indicating China's support of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Xi also stated that Russia and China should "be true friends of steel that have been through a hundred trials by fire" as the two leaders pledged to strengthen coordination in all areas, including the military, and to "decisively counter Washington's course of 'dual containment'" of Beijing and Moscow.
Next week, Trump is visiting the Middle East. Between next Tuesday and Friday, he will go to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. All three of these countries have been playing a critical role in Ukraine's efforts to put an end to Russia's war in Ukraine with their help in prisoner-of-war exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children, forcefully deported by Moscow.
The Kremlin hasn't commented on the possibility of Russia's president going to the Middle East.
The mayor of Nagasaki has announced the city will invite representatives "of all countries" and regions to the peace memorial marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.
The invitation to the 157 countries and regions that have diplomatic missions in Japan will include Russia, Belarus and Israel, who were excluded last year.
Mayor Shiro Suzuki said he wants all representatives to see the brutal consequences of atomic weapons use as a lesson at a time of growing divisions and conflicts.
The United States dropped its second atomic bomb on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, three days after the first bombing of Hiroshima, together killing more than 210,000 people.
Japan surrendered on 15 August, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression across Asia.
Suzuki said his city is returning to its "fundamental purpose" of the ceremony, to mourn the atomic bomb victims and pray for lasting world peace.
"We want to go beyond national borders, overcome ideological differences and any other divisions to have global representatives gather in Nagasaki," he said.
He added: "At a time of worsening divisions of the international society, I feel more strongly than ever about the importance for representatives of all countries to participate in the Nagasaki peace memorial and learn the atrocious and inhumane outcomes of the nuclear weapons use through their own eyes, ears and hearts."
Suzuki did not invite Israel to the 2024 anniversary, citing concern of "unforeseeable situations" such as violent protests over the war in Gaza disrupting the memorial.
But Israel's exclusion drew criticisms and boycott by ambassadors from the US and five other Group of Seven nations — Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. — and the European Union.
Russia and its ally Belarus have not been invited to the Nagasaki memorial event since 2022 following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Japan, despite being the world's only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, relies on the US nuclear umbrella and its 'extended deterrence' amid growing tension in the region and supports atomic weapons possession for deterrence.
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