Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi has arrived in Russia, where last Saturday, June 24, there were tensions that raised fears of civil war. The Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Bishops' Conference is as is well known the Pope's appointee to carry out a mission aimed at finding possible avenues of dialogue that will open glimmers of hope for the conclusion of the conflict in Ukraine. It was precisely in Ukraine, in the capital Kyiv, that the first stage of Zuppi's mission took place last June 5 and 6, which also saw the cardinal in talks with President Volodymir Zelensky. The President of the Italian Bishops, previously a mediator for Mozambique's agreements with the Community of Sant'Egidio, is now in Moscow accompanied by an official from the Secretariat of State. "The main purpose of the initiative," a note explains, "is to encourage gestures of humanity, which can help foster a solution to the current tragic situation and find ways to achieve a just peace. The mission, which is watched with "interest and expectation" by the Russian government, as stated days ago by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, has the full support of the Italian Bishops' Conference, which accompanies with prayer the sending of its president to Moscow.