MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/. Pope Francis strongly condemns Ukraine’s shelling attack on Donetsk that claimed numerous human lives and calls for beginning peace talks, Leonid Sevastyanov, chairman of the World Union of Old Believers (WSU), told TASS, citing his conversation with the pontiff.

"Pope Francis strongly condemns the strikes on Donetsk and strongly calls for talks," he said, adding that the pontiff thinks that conflict in Ukraine has reached a deadlock.

The Pope insists that there is no military solution to this conflict, which can be settled only through talks. "The conflict’s continuation will bring more suffering to civilians. The Pope calls for peace talks where the side would be able to discuss mutual claims and ways to settle them," Sevastyanov said.

A market in Donetsk came under artillery shelling by Ukrainian troops on Sunday. According to head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin, Ukrainian troops used 152mm and 155mm artillery systems. As a result, twenty-seven people were killed and at least twenty-five more, including two teenagers, were wounded. Shortly after the strike, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said that Ukraine’s strike on Donetsk would be discussed at a Russia-requested meeting of the UN Security Council.