Pope Leo XIV telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to ask for a humanitarian ceasefire in Oleshky, a city in Ukraine's Kherson region that Russia has occupied since 2022. He made the request from Gemelli hospital in Rome, where he has been since Tuesday, after surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung.
According to the statement released by the Holy See Press Office on Friday afternoon, Leo XIV voiced "deep concern" about the humanitarian situation in the city and called for a truce that would allow "the delivery of food and medical assistance," as well as the voluntary and safe evacuation of civilians. The Pope also reaffirmed the Holy See's commitment to dialogue and peace.
It was the first phone call between the two since 4 June 2025, according to Vatican News.
What the Kremlin said
The Russian account of the call is a different one. In its readout, the Kremlin said Putin gave the Pope "comprehensive explanations of the Kyiv regime's responsibility" for the situation in Oleshky — in other words, he blamed Ukraine for the crisis the Pope asked him to ease.
The Kremlin also said Putin supported the Vatican's intention to help keep residents safe and get essential supplies into the city, and that the two sides agreed to cooperate. Neither account mentions a timeframe, a perimeter or any concrete mechanism for a truce — the difference between a diplomatic gesture and a humanitarian corridor that actually works.
A besieged city on the bank of the Dnipro
Oleshky sits on the left bank of the Dnipro river, across the water from the city of Kherson, and has been under Russian occupation since 2022. The independent Russian outlet Meduza describes the situation in recent months as verging on a humanitarian catastrophe: constant drone attacks have left residents without food, electricity or adequate medical care, and those who remain cannot leave safely — in some cases they cannot even bury the dead.
On 27 September, Meduza reported that food deliveries had stopped and that safe evacuation had become nearly impossible. On 9 October, it published a report on hundreds of people trapped in the city. There is no official figure for how many civilians are still in Oleshky.
The Pope and the war
Elected in May 2025, Leo XIV has treated the war in Ukraine as a diplomatic priority. On 29 September he urged European leaders to be willing to make concessions in order to end the conflict, without saying which ones.
The Pope is being treated at the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic in Rome. The Holy See said he underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung and is recovering; according to Meduza, he is being treated for lung adenocarcinoma.
With information from Vatican News, the Holy See Press Office and Meduza.
