A call to Zelensky on Monday
Pope Leo XIV spoke by telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, 19 October, the Vatican press office said in a statement. The Holy Father raised the situation in Oleshky, a city in the Kherson region under Russian occupation, and referred to a request for a humanitarian truce that had already been put to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. He hoped cooperation between the two sides would allow food and medical supplies to reach the city. The statement also set out the pope's wish for a safe and voluntary evacuation of the civilian population. In the same call, the pope reaffirmed the Holy See's commitment to dialogue and peace.
Conditions in Oleshky
Ukrainian authorities had warned before the call that the situation in the city was tragic. They said about 2,000 people remained there, including 50 children, without access to food or water. Oleshky lies about 4 km from Kherson, on the left bank of the Dnipro that Russia occupies. According to reports, the roads leading into the city are mined, and Russian drones operate there constantly, making it harder for residents to leave. Italian coverage notes that the city has been under Russian occupation since 2022, and the appeal for a corridor comes as residents remain cut off from supplies.
The earlier call with Putin
The pope had already raised the matter directly with Putin on Friday, 16 October, while still at the Gemelli polyclinic. In that conversation he appealed for a truce that would allow aid deliveries and the safe evacuation of residents. Reports citing the Kremlin say Putin received the proposal favourably. The call to Zelensky came three days later, which makes it the second papal appeal on Oleshky within a week. Spanish-language coverage likewise describes the Putin conversation as the one in which the pope first raised Oleshky.
What the appeal asks of both sides
The Vatican's statement asked both parties to cooperate rather than naming a single step. It framed that cooperation as the route to food, medicine and evacuation for civilians. The Holy See presented the appeal as part of its wider engagement for dialogue and peace. The articles do not report any response from Kyiv or Moscow to the Monday call, and no truce agreement is reported as of the statement.