Pope Leo XIV hopes Oleshky humanitarian operation will spur new peace initiatives

Pope Leo XIV, head of the Roman Catholic Church, on 1 November welcomed the successful completion of a humanitarian operation in occupied Oleshky, a city in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast. Speaking after the Angelus prayer in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, he expressed hope that cooperation between the warring sides would foster new efforts to achieve peace.

According to Vatican News, the pope said the operation had been carried out in recent days to assist the city's civilian population. He voiced hope that the cooperation between the parties, which made this necessary gesture of humanity possible, would build a greater willingness to engage in dialogue and lead to new, concrete peace initiatives.

What came before

Leo XIV had earlier held telephone conversations with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia about the humanitarian situation in Oleshky. On 31 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that the operation had been completed successfully.

The source does not describe how the operation was carried out or what assistance residents received. It states only that the aim was to help civilians in a city currently under Russian occupation.

The pope's remarks amount to a call for continued dialogue between the sides, suggesting that cooperation on a humanitarian matter could serve as a basis for broader peace efforts.