VATICAN, August 15. /TASS/. Pope Francis called for prayers for peace in Ukraine in a sermon on the Catholic Feast of the Assumption in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square.

"Today, we are sending our prayers for peace in Ukraine and all war-torn regions to the Virgin Mary. The clashing of weapons is hindering efforts to build dialogue and the law of force is prevailing over the force of law. We will continue to hope and pray," he said.

Earlier, the pontiff noted that Europe and the West in general had lost "peace guidelines" and were facing a shortage of diplomatic initiatives to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and other crises.