Pope Leo XIV asks Zelensky to work with Russia on aid to occupied Oleshky
In a phone call with Ukraine's president, the pontiff urged cooperation with Moscow to deliver food and medical aid and allow safe voluntary evacuations from the occupied Kherson town, days after making a similar appeal to Vladimir Putin.
Pope Leo XIV has asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to work with Russia to ease a worsening humanitarian crisis in the occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region, the Holy See said. In a telephone conversation, the pontiff expressed the hope that cooperation between both sides would allow food and medical aid to reach civilians and permit their voluntary and safe evacuation.
According to a statement released by the Holy See, the pope told Zelensky about the request for a humanitarian truce he had already conveyed to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Leo XIV also reaffirmed the Holy See's commitment to dialogue and peace. The call came as Russia launched a fresh wave of missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, killing at least one person and leaving more than half a million people without essential services.
The appeal follows a Friday phone call between the pontiff and Putin, made from Rome's Gemelli hospital just three days after the pope underwent surgery to remove an adenocarcinoma. During that conversation, Leo XIV asked for a truce to alleviate what he described as a grave humanitarian crisis in Oleshky. The Kremlin said Putin expressed willingness to cooperate with the Vatican in facilitating the delivery of aid, but announced no commitment to a ceasefire.
Oleshky has been under Russian occupation since 2022, and conditions there have deteriorated sharply because of shortages of food and medicine and the difficulty of evacuating residents. The United Nations estimates that around 1,700 people remain trapped in the town. The pope's intervention places the Vatican at the centre of efforts to open a narrow humanitarian corridor in an area where military operations and occupation have left civilians increasingly isolated.
Zelensky, for his part, said Ukraine's allies had not warned Kyiv in advance of the latest bombardments and lamented delays in the delivery of air-defence systems. His remarks come amid growing tensions with Washington over peace negotiations. The Ukrainian leader has not publicly commented on the substance of his conversation with the pope.
Leo XIV was elected in May 2025 and has issued repeated calls for an end to the war, offering the Holy See as a venue for eventual negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. He was discharged from hospital on Saturday and is continuing to recover from surgery, with plans to resume his public schedule gradually. The Vatican has not said whether further contacts with either side are planned.
The exchange highlights the delicate role the Holy See has sought to play as a neutral mediator, pressing for humanitarian access while stopping short of endorsing either party's political position. For the pope, the immediate aim is practical: getting food, medicine and safe passage to civilians in Oleshky. Whether Moscow and Kyiv can agree on even a limited truce in the area remains uncertain, and no timetable for such an arrangement has been announced.
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