Pope Leo XIV spoke with Vladimir Putin by phone on Friday, 16 October 2026, the second conversation between them since Leo became pope, after a first call in June 2025.
The pope asked for a truce to allow food and medical aid into Oleshky and the voluntary, safe evacuation of civilians, according to the Vatican Press Office.
Ukrainian authorities and media warned on Wednesday, 14 October, that about 6,000 people were still in Oleshky and faced famine, while El Periódico cited a lower figure of about 2,000 residents.
On 2 October, EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib described the situation in Oleshky as terrifying and called for aid access and permission for civilians to leave the city.
Pope Leo XIV spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, 16 October 2026, while he was recovering at Gemelli Hospital in Rome after surgery for lung cancer. The Vatican Press Office issued a communiqué on the conversation. In it, the Holy Father voiced concern about the situation in Oleshky, a city in the Kherson region of Ukraine, and asked for a truce.
“During the conversation, the Holy Father expressed deep concern regarding the serious humanitarian situation in the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region”
The communiqué does not say who initiated the call or how long it lasted, and it does not record Putin's reply or any concrete agreement on a truce. ABC reported that Putin was the one who called the pope on the afternoon of 16 October, a detail absent from the Vatican statement. The conversation was the second between the two leaders since Leo XIV became pope, following a first call in June 2025. The Vatican also said the pope reiterated the Holy See's commitment to fostering dialogue and peace.
Oleshky sits on the banks of the Dnipro, and Ukrainian reports describe it as caught between the two armies. Ukrainian authorities and media warned on Wednesday, 14 October, that about 6,000 people were still living in the city and faced famine. Russian troops have cut the city off from the rest of the world, leaving the remaining civilians, among them 200 children, without a new source of food, medicine, drinking water or basic care. El Periódico gave a lower figure of about 2,000 remaining residents, and the sources do not reconcile the two counts. The truce the pope requested would open a route for food and medical aid and for the voluntary and safe evacuation of civilians.
On 2 October, EU Commissioner for Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib called the situation in Oleshky terrifying and said civilians were trapped under the siege of Russian forces, with no access to food, medicine, drinking water or basic care. She demanded that aid reach those who need it and that civilians be allowed to leave the city. Brussels said it was in contact with the relevant actors and exploring every available route to help, including for people trapped in the temporarily occupied territories. The pope's appeal came two weeks after that warning.
None of the eight articles reports that a truce was agreed or that an evacuation from Oleshky has started. The Vatican statement is the only source for the pope's own words, and it does not say whether Putin accepted any part of the request. The sources also disagree on how many people remain in the city, so the scale of the need is still uncertain.
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Pope Leo XIV, recovering at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, raised the humanitarian crisis in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky with Vladimir Putin on Friday, 16 October 2026. The Vatican says the pope also asked for food, medical aid and a safe civilian evacuation.
AI text based on reports by rmf24.pl, La Libre.be, El Periódico and other publishers. Published .