Pope Leo XIV Speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Urges Ceasefire in Occupied Oleshky

Pope Leo XIV had a telephone discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, Oct. 16, urging him to agree to a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky where residents have been cut off from drinking water, food and medicine for months.

The pontiff made the appeal from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he is recovering from Tuesday’s, Oct. 13 surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung.

The pope “expressed his deep concern about the grave humanitarian situation in the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, and called for a ceasefire to allow the delivery of food and medical assistance, and the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population,” AFP reported, citing the Vatican.

It was the second phone call between the two, following their first conversation on June 4, 2025 that also focused on the war in Ukraine.

Kremlin blames Kyiv

According to Reuters, the Kremlin backed Vatican’s initiative and agreed to cooperate, but again pinned the blame for the humanitarian crisis on Ukraine.

In its own readout, the Kremlin said Putin had given the pope “a detailed explanation” of what it called the Kyiv regime’s responsibility for the humanitarian situation in Oleshky.

The Russian president wished the pontiff a speedy recovery.

Residents trapped without food and water

Oleshky is located in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region on the left bank of the Dnipro River, about 5 km (3 miles) southeast of the city of Kherson, and has been under Russian occupation since the early days of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

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“The city has been turned into a death trap,” Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian parliament commissioner for human rights said in a statement on Sept. 16.

According to his estimates, around 6,000 residents – including nearly 200 children – remain in the city with limited access to food, water and electricity, while Russian forces block attempts to leave.

The figures could not be independently verified, particularly as Russian occupation authorities narrowly restrict access to information from the area.

He said his office had received 176 appeals regarding the humanitarian situation in Oleshky, and had already verified at least 358 people who urgently needed assistance to leave safely. Many of the residents try to escape on their own, walking through mined fields, as they see no other way out.

“They see no other way to escape this hell,” Lubinets said.

Tetiana Hasanenko, head of the Oleshky City Military Administration said on July 20 that the city’s residents had remained without drinking water and food for months, with the last food delivery reaching the town on May 26.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday described the situation in Oleshky as “desperate” and called on Russia to allow civilians to evacuate, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities have appealed to its international partners for months, urging them to secure immediate humanitarian access.

“The Russian occupation authorities are effectively holding civilians, including children, hostage,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. “This is nothing other than a man-made humanitarian catastrophe.”

On Oct. 7, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) warned of an upcoming Russian disinformation campaign, saying that Russian troops received orders to prepare propaganda materials with Oleshky locals to portray Moscow in a positive light and “accuse the Ukrainian Defense Forces of constant shelling and blockade of the city.”

Moscow rejects broader truce

The pope’s appeal came only a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ruled out a general ceasefire in the war, arguing on Thursday, Oct. 15 that any pause in fighting would allow Ukraine to rearm.

He also insisted that Moscow’s war objectives remained unchanged.

So far, the Kremlin has rejected any peace proposals from Ukraine, the US and Europe.

During the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 23, 51 countries signed a joint letter backing Ukraine and urging Moscow to agree to an immediate ceasefire.

At the same summit, Lavrov – representing Putin, who stopped attending the UNGA years ago – said that the Kremlin will not pause its “special military operation” even during negotiations.

He added that Ukraine would have kept its 1991 borders if the European nations had not “engaged in their shenanigans,” echoing Moscow’s long-standing hostility toward the West, just a month after Ukraine marked its 35th Independence Day.