Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to meet Pope Francis in the Vatican on Saturday, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.

The planned trip, which has not been officially announced, comes just two weeks after the pope said the Vatican was involved in a peace mission to try to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Pope Francis has given no further information about the initiative.

There was no immediate comment from Kyiv on reports of the possible trip. Zelenskiy's office never releases details of his travel plans ahead of time out of concern for his safety.

An Italian political source confirmed that Zelenskiy might be in Rome at the weekend and said he might also see Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.