The Vatican has clarified the Pope's statement, which caused criticism in Ukraine, about "the heirs of the great Mother Russia."

The Holy See clarified that the Pope did not seek to glorify Russia's historical imperial past.

"The Pope intended to encourage young people to preserve and promote all that is positive in the great Russian cultural and spiritual heritage, and certainly not to glorify the imperialist logic and government officials mentioned as landmarks of historical periods," the statement said.

To recap, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called the Pope's statement "imperialist propaganda."