Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed support for a Vatican-led humanitarian initiative to deliver essential supplies to civilians in the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, telling Pope Leo during a phone call Friday that Moscow was ready to cooperate.
The Vatican said earlier on Friday that Leo had urged Putin to agree to a truce to allow the entry of first aid and food supplies into the town and to permit a voluntary evacuation of the civilian population.
Russia and Ukraine both accuse each other of blocking supplies to the population of the town which Ukrainian forces want to retake.
"The Vatican’s intention to help create the conditions necessary to ensure the safety of the town’s population and to organise vital supplies has been supported," the Kremlin said in a statement.
"It has been agreed to cooperate on this matter."
The surprise notice from the Vatican Friday evening suggested that the recovering pope is still hard at work, despite Tuesday's operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung.
Residents of Oleshky in southern Ukraine are facing a worsening humanitarian crisis with shortages of food and medication as they are caught in the crossfire between Russian and Ukrainian troops.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk denounced on Friday a "desperate" situation in the city, calling on Russia to enable civilians to evacuate.