Pope Leo XIV urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cooperate with Russia so that humanitarian aid can reach the besieged city of Oleshky and civilians can be evacuated safely, the Vatican said after the two men spoke by telephone on Monday. The pontiff described the situation in the city, in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, as grave and told Zelenskyy he had already asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for a humanitarian ceasefire.
According to the Vatican statement, Leo expressed hope that cooperation between the two sides would allow food and medical supplies into Oleshky and make possible the voluntary and safe evacuation of civilians. He also reaffirmed the Holy See's commitment to promoting dialogue and peace, framing the appeal as a humanitarian matter rather than a political intervention.
The call to Putin came on Friday, while the pope was recovering at Rome's Gemelli hospital from surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. The Vatican said Leo voiced deep concern about conditions in Oleshky and sought a ceasefire that would permit aid deliveries and evacuations. It was the second known telephone conversation between Leo XIV and Putin since he became pope; the two had previously spoken on 4 June 2025, when their talks also centred on the war in Ukraine.
The pope underwent surgery on 13 October after doctors identified a suspected cancerous nodule. Tests confirmed a pulmonary adenocarcinoma. He was discharged on Saturday and said during his Sunday Angelus prayer that he is slowly resuming his duties. He is expected to hold his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square on Wednesday.
The sequence of calls places the pope's humanitarian appeal at the centre of his early public activity after surgery, with the Vatican presenting the Holy See as a channel for dialogue and relief rather than as a mediator in the wider conflict. The focus on Oleshky reflects concern for civilians caught in a city under pressure, where access to food, medicine and safe passage has become the immediate question.
Leo's appeal also echoes the Vatican's long-standing emphasis on humanitarian corridors and the protection of non-combatants in conflicts, a theme that has run through papal diplomacy in recent years. By speaking to both Zelenskyy and Putin within days of each other, the pope has sought to keep open a line of communication on practical relief even as the war continues.
The Vatican did not provide further details on how the aid deliveries or evacuations might be organised, nor on the response from either side. The statement said only that the pope hoped cooperation between the parties would make the operation possible and that the Holy See would continue to promote dialogue and peace.