By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Pope Leo held a phone call on Monday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Vatican said, and urged Ukraine and Russia to cooperate to let aid and food into the blockaded town of Oleshky.
Residents of the Ukrainian town, occupied by Russian forces since February 2022, have reported a deepening food crisis.
Leo “expressed the hope that cooperation between both parties will allow for the delivery of food and medical aid, and for the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population,” the Vatican said in a statement about Monday’s call.
Zelenskiy did not immediately release a statement about the conversation.
The pope, who is recovering from lung cancer surgery, spoke on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and asked him to arrange a ceasefire to facilitate the entry of aid into Oleshky.
The Kremlin said afterwards that Putin had agreed to cooperate with the pope to organise supplies for the town, but did not mention a ceasefire.
Leo, who became pope in May 2025, has met with Zelenskiy several times.
They last saw each other in December, at the pope’s residence in Castel Gandolfo in Italy, after which Leo urged European leaders to take a collective approach in negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia overnight launched one of its broadest air assaults against Ukraine in months, firing 16 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region and more than 200 drones across the country.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Alvise Armellini and Hugh Lawson)
