Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, asking for his support on Ukraine's peace plan and requesting help in getting deported children returned from Russia to Ukraine. The Vatican's statement after the meeting only mentioned the "humanitarian and political situation provoked by the ongoing war" and the pope's efforts towards peace. Meanwhile, Russia continues its war on Ukraine, with reports of Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles supplied by the UK hitting unspecified civilian enterprises in Luhansk province and a missile strike on the regional capital that injured an elderly woman. In addition, two Russian Mi-8 helicopters and a fighter-bomber crashed in the Bryansk region, with growing concerns in the area about cross-border attacks from Ukraine. On the diplomatic front, Italy promised Ukraine full military and financial backing, while Germany announced its biggest military aid package yet of 2.7 billion euros and called for the EU to speed up the delivery of ammunition to support Ukraine in the ongoing conflict in the Bakhmut area.