Pope Urges Putin by Phone to Halt Fire in Occupied Oleshky

Pope Leo XIV phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin and called for a ceasefire in the city of Oleshky, in Ukraine's Kherson region. The city is under Russian occupation. The pope stressed that a halt to the shooting is needed so that food and medicine can be delivered and civilians can leave voluntarily and safely. Both the Vatican and the Kremlin press services reported on the conversation.

The Vatican and Kremlin accounts

The press office of the Holy See, the Vatican's governing body, said the pope voiced deep concern over the grave humanitarian situation in Oleshky and, at the end of the call, reaffirmed the Vatican's commitment to dialogue and peace. Leo XIV is reportedly in hospital with lung cancer.

The Kremlin's statement said the pope expressed concern for the fate of civilians. According to the Kremlin, Putin offered detailed explanations of what it called the Kyiv regime's responsibility for the difficult situation, the Vatican's intention to help create conditions for security and deliveries was supported, and an agreement on cooperation was reached.

Earlier appeals

At the end of September, Michael O'Flaherty, human rights commissioner of the Council of Europe, an international human rights organisation, urged an immediate ceasefire in Oleshky and unobstructed access for humanitarian organisations. He said the crisis was deteriorating rapidly: residents, including children, were trapped without sufficient food, medicine, medical care, running water or electricity. Based on reports he had received, he said people faced a high risk of death. The commissioner recalled that under international humanitarian law, Russia, as the occupying power, is obliged to supply the population with food and medicine.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov previously claimed that Ukraine was obstructing aid deliveries. In early October, it was reported that Ukraine's National Guard delivered about 400 parcels by drone, weighing almost four tonnes in total and containing food, medicine and children's goods. Olena Gnitetska, a journalist from the Kherson region who keeps in touch with residents, told The Insider that aid deliveries to the city have not been successful since May.