From a hospital room in Rome, Pope Leo XIV telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday with a direct request: pause the fighting around the Ukrainian town of Oleshky long enough to feed its people and let civilians leave. The Pope Leo Putin ceasefire call marked the second known conversation between the two leaders and came just days after the pontiff underwent surgery for lung cancer.
According to the Vatican, the pope told Putin he was deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Oleshky, a town in the Kherson region held by Russian forces. He called for a ceasefire that would allow food and medical assistance to reach residents, plus the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population. He also reaffirmed the Holy See's commitment to promoting dialogue and peace.
What Oleshky looks like now
Oleshky sits on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River and has been under Russian control since the first days of the full-scale invasion. No humanitarian food deliveries have reached the town since May. Residents live without electricity, gas or running water, and the local hospital is barely functional. The Vatican described what it called a deepening food crisis, while Russia has acknowledged serious problems with food and medical supplies there, blaming Ukraine for obstructing deliveries.
About twenty-four thousand people lived in Oleshky before the war. Roughly seventeen hundred remain, among them 47 children, according to Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Protesters in Kyiv have staged demonstrations outside City Hall demanding that Western allies pressure Moscow to open a humanitarian corridor for the trapped population.
Kyiv sees the situation differently. Ukraine has accused Russia of deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe in Oleshky, according to CNN reporting cited across coverage of the call. The accusation puts the Vatican's appeal in an awkward spot: the pope asked Moscow for cooperation, while Ukrainian officials say Moscow manufactured the crisis that makes cooperation necessary.
How the Kremlin answered
Moscow said Putin offered the pope what it called comprehensive explanations of Kyiv's responsibility for the difficult humanitarian situation. The Kremlin backed what it described as the Vatican's intention to help guarantee the safety of the town's population and organize vital supplies, and said the two sides agreed to collaborate. Putin wished the pontiff a speedy recovery, thanking him for what he called a willingness to contribute to resolving the conflict. The Kremlin also said cooperation between Moscow and the Holy See mattered for promoting the values that unite Christians worldwide, and described the exchange as constructive and mutually respectful.
A pontiff working from a hospital bed
The pope placed the call from Rome's Gemelli hospital, where he is recovering from a lobectomy that removed the lower lobe of his right lung after a lung cancer diagnosis earlier in the week. The 71-year-old celebrated midday Mass on Friday in a room prepared on the tenth floor of the hospital, attended by off-duty doctors and nursing staff. The Vatican released the first photographs of him since the operation, showing him standing at an altar.
His doctors reported steady improvement. A medical update said his post-operative recovery allowed him to carry out his normal daily activities completely on his own. After morning blood tests and a chest X-ray, he continued respiratory physiotherapy. He is expected to deliver his traditional Angelus prayer on Sunday, either from the hospital or the Vatican.
The pope's medical team has not released the results of post-operative tests that would show whether the operation removed all of the cancer, or whether further treatment will be needed. For now, the Vatican says only that he is improving and working independently.
Friday's call fits a longer Vatican pattern of chasing practical, limited openings. The Holy See has repeatedly presented itself as a neutral channel in the war, and Leo has continued that approach since his election. The Pope Leo Putin ceasefire call was a practical opening, and the promised collaboration with Moscow now faces its first test in Oleshky.
The Friday conversation was only the second known phone call between Leo and Putin, after a first exchange in June 2025. It ranks among the most direct attempts by the Holy See to negotiate localized battlefield conditions since the invasion began. Whether the appeal translates into trucks of food and open roads out of Oleshky remains an open question for now.
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