Francis made the comments, first to journalists
at the aircraft taking him to Malta for a two-day visit.
Pope Francis has implicitly criticized Russia's President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine.
We had thought that invasions of other countries, savage street fighting and atomic threats were grim memories of a distant past
Francis has rejected the terminology of the Russians, calling it a war.
The Pope strongly condemned what he called an "unjust attack" and condemned "brutality" in the war.
Francis has been invited by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Ukraine's Byzantine-rite Catholic Church.