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Pope Leo expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Russian-occupied Oleshky in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 16, the Vatican said.
The pope called for a local ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and the safe evacuation of civilians from the front-line city, where around 2,000 residents remain trapped amid severe shortages of food and medicine.
Despite Russia's failure to cooperate with evacuation efforts, Putin blamed Ukraine for the crisis in Oleshky.
"Putin provided the pope with detailed explanations of the Kyiv regime's responsibility for the humanitarian situation in Oleshky," Russian state news agency TASS reported.
Oleshky is an occupied front-line city on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, where civilians live amid a Russian military presence and attacks from both Ukrainian and Russian forces.
The humanitarian situation has worsened since the summer, as evacuation efforts have come to a halt. Continued attacks have made it increasingly difficult to deliver essential food and medicine.
Ukraine had prepared an evacuation mission, with the International Committee of the Red Cross ready to participate and Ukrainian forces preparing to observe a ceasefire, according to Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets. Russia, however, had not confirmed its willingness to proceed, he said.
The call came as Leo remains hospitalized in Rome after undergoing surgery for lung cancer on Oct. 13. It was his second known phone conversation with Putin since becoming pope in 2025.