Pope Leo XIV calls Putin from hospital, urges ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky

Oct 16, 2026

Recovering at a Rome hospital following surgery for early-stage lung cancer, Pope Leo XIV held a telephone call on October 16, 2026, with Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge a local ceasefire and humanitarian corridor for Oleshky, Ukraine. Around 2,000 civilians remain trapped in the Russian-occupied front-line city amid severe shortages of food and medicine. While Putin expressed support for Vatican assistance in delivering supplies, Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange blame for obstructing aid.

Pope Leo XIV's call with Putin

▪Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the Vatican's initiative to help organize vital supplies and ensure population safety in Oleshky, agreeing to cooperate on the matter during his October 16, 2026 call with Pope Leo
▪Russian President Vladimir Putin provided Pope Leo XIV with a detailed explanation attributing full responsibility for the difficult humanitarian situation in Oleshky to the Ukrainian government
▪The October 16, 2026 phone call was the second known telephone conversation between Pope Leo XIV and Russian President Vladimir Putin since Leo became pope in May 2025
▪Pope Leo XIV spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 16, 2026, appealing for a local ceasefire in Oleshky, food and medical assistance, and a safe evacuation corridor for Oleshky, Ukraine

Pope Leo XIV's health and recovery

▪Pope Leo XIV called Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 16, 2026, while recovering at Gemelli hospital in Rome following an October 13, 2026 surgery that removed the lower lobe of Leo's right lung due to early-stage lung cancer
▪Vatican officials and doctors stated on October 16, 2026, that Pope Leo XIV was showing steady health improvement, moving independently, and resuming work activities while hospitalized

Humanitarian conditions in trapped Oleshky

▪Approximately 1,700 to 2,000 civilian residents, including over 40 children, remain trapped in Russian-occupied Oleshky, Ukraine, facing severe hunger and critical shortages of food and medicine
▪Trapped civilians in Oleshky have survived primarily on personal garden harvests, while Ukrainian military drone attempts to deliver food packages have faced interference and confiscation by Russian troops

Disputes over aid and evacuation

▪Russia and Ukraine each accuse the other side of obstructing food and medical supply deliveries to the front-line town of Oleshky
▪Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that Ukraine and the International Committee of the Red Cross prepared an evacuation mission for Oleshky, but Russia failed to confirm its willingness to proceed

Vatican envoy's Moscow mission

▪Pope Leo XIV spoke with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi after the papal envoy returned from his third diplomatic mission to Moscow in late September 2026
▪Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the pope's special envoy for humanitarian issues, met with Russian foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov in Moscow in late September 2026 to discuss prisoner exchanges, family reunification, and child repatriation

Location and background of Oleshky

▪Oleshky is located in Ukraine's Kherson region on the Russian-controlled left bank of the Dnipro River, where mined riverbanks, mined roads, and dense drone activity severely restrict civilian exit routes
▪Oleshky had a pre-war population of approximately 24,000 residents before being captured by Russian forces in February 2022 during Russia's invasion of Ukraine