Home · Faith · Oct 21 archive
Pope Leo urges Ukraine-Russia humanitarian cooperation as Russian strike kills children at playground
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to establish a ceasefire in Oleshky, Ukraine, to allow humanitarian aid and civilian evacuations, according to multiple reports from international outlets.
The Kyivpost (Ukraine) reported that Pope Leo XIV urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in occupied Oleshky to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.
In Azerbaijan, News reported that Pope Leo XIV expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Oleshky, in Ukraine’s Kherson region, and called for food and medical supplies to reach affected residents.
RTE.ie (Ireland) reported that Pope Leo XIV held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the pope continues to recover in hospital after undergoing surgery for lung cancer.
The Vatican press office confirmed that Pope Leo XIV spoke by phone with Putin on Friday, while recovering from surgery, to discuss the humanitarian situation in Oleshky.
According to the Kyivpost, the pope’s call for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid delivery was echoed by 51 countries that signed a joint letter backing Ukraine and urging Moscow to agree to an immediate ceasefire during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 23.
The Kyivpost and News both reported that Russian forces have imposed a humanitarian blockade, with food supplies last delivered to the area at the end of May.
The Kyivpost and News agree that Pope Leo XIV urged Putin to establish a ceasefire in Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid and civilian evacuations.
The Kyivpost and News also reported that the pope’s call for humanitarian aid and civilian evacuations was echoed by 51 countries during the UN General Assembly.
The Kyivpost and News both reported that Russian forces have imposed a humanitarian blockade, with food supplies last delivered to the area at the end of May.
The Kyivpost and News agree that Pope Leo XIV urged Putin to establish a ceasefire in Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid and civilian evacuations.
The Kyivpost and News also reported that the pope’s call for humanitarian aid and civilian evacuations was echoed by 51 countries during the UN General Assembly.
The Kyivpost and News both reported that Russian forces have imposed a humanitarian blockade, with food supplies last delivered to the area at the end of May.
Background
Pope Leo XIV spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, urging cooperation between Ukraine and Russia to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate civilians from Oleshky, a city in the Kherson region facing a severe humanitarian crisis.
Russian forces struck a crowded park in Nova Vodolaha, Kharkiv region, killing six people, including children.
What's confirmed
- Leo urged cooperation with Russia to allow humanitarian aid into Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region and the safe evacuation of civilians.
- Pope Leo XIV appears at the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace overlooking St.
- Peter's Square at the Vatican for the traditional noon blessing after praying the Angelus with Pope Leo XIV, Sunday, Oct.
- Pope Leo XIV's personal secretaries, Monsignor Edgard Ivan Rimaycuna Inga, right, and Father Marco Billeri, hang a banner bearing the pontiff's coat of arms from a window overlooking St.
- Leo recalled the “grave situation” in Oleshky, in Ukraine’s Kherson region, and told Zelenskyy about his request to Russian President Vladimir Putin for a humanitarian ceasefire, according to a Vatican statement.
- Pope Leo XIV has spoken by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
- Leo on Monday referred to his earlier appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow food and medical aid into the city.
- During Thursday’s call with Putin, Leo XIV requested a humanitarian ceasefire in Oleshky, a city in Ukraine’s Kherson region that has been facing a prolonged humanitarian crisis.
- Russian sources, however, have noted that Putin was particularly interested in holding a second conversation with the pope following their first exchange in June 2025.
- “Finally, the Holy Father reaffirmed the commitment of the Holy See to promoting dialogue and peace,” the statement said.
- Pope Leo XIV called Russian President Vladimir Putin while recovering from surgery in the hospital to urge him to call a ceasefire in the city of Oleshky in Ukraine.
- In an Oct. 19 statement, the Vatican press office said the conversation centered on “the grave situation” in the city, which has been under Russian military occupation since 2022.
What's still developing
- Leo XIV agreed, and Zuppi conveyed the pope’s willingness to intervene on the humanitarian issue during his Sept.
- “It was the Holy Father who took the initiative to plead the cause of this besieged city,” Parolin told reporters on Friday.
- Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said the telephone conversation with Putin resulted from the pope’s desire for dialogue.
- “These are horrific photos, but behind them are shattered lives and the truth about this war,” he said, sharing photographs from the playground where the attack occurred, killing among others an 11-year-old girl.
- Ukraine blames Russia for the crisis; Russia blames Ukraine, as was clear from a statement issued by the Kremlin after the phone call between Pope Leo and Mr. Putin.
- During Cardinal Zuppi’s visit to Ukraine in June, the cardinal was asked whether the Pope would be willing to advocate for humanitarian assistance for residents of Kherson and Oleshky.
- ROME – Pope Leo XIV gave strong indications Friday that he was recovering well from lung cancer surgery and was very much in charge of running the Catholic Church, speaking on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting with top aides and celebrating Mass in a makeshift hospital chapel.