Pope Leo urges Zelenskiy to cooperate with Russia on aid for Oleshky

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.

The call came three days after Leo asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to arrange a ceasefire so aid could enter Oleshky, a request the Kremlin did ‌not address when it said Putin would help organise supplies. 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, in comments posted on Telegram, said he and the Pope discussed the situation in Oleshky, adding: "We ⁠are ​working on helping our people ⁠there. We are preparing a solution." The pope, he said, outlined his talks with Russia on the situation.

Zelenskiy also said discussions focused on "security challenges ⁠and threats" and three recent instances in which Ukraine received no advance warning from its partners of impending Russian missile ​attacks. The pope, who is recovering from lung cancer surgery, spoke on Friday with 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.