The Ukrainian government has responded angrily and vowed never to surrender after Pope Francis said the country should have “the courage to raise the white flag” and negotiate an end to the war with Russia.

“Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags,” Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said on social media on Sunday.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the pontiff was engaging in “virtual mediation”. Zelenskiy made no direct reference to Francis or his comments but mentioned religious figures helping inside Ukraine. “They support us with prayer, with their discussion and with deeds. This is indeed what a church with the people is,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “Not 2,500 km away, somewhere, virtual mediation between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you.”

Politicians and commentators in Europe expressed outrage after the pontiff gave an interview in which he appeared to stay silent on Russia’s crimes as aggressor in the invasion and placed the onus on Ukraine to make peace.