Putin agrees to cooperate on aid for Ukrainian town of Oleshky after Pope Leo's call

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Pope Leo XIV he will cooperate on getting vital supplies into the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Oleshky, the Kremlin said on Friday, after the pontiff phoned him to raise the town's humanitarian situation.

The Vatican said Leo asked Putin to arrange a ceasefire so that aid and food could reach the town, which Russian forces took in February 2022 and where residents have reported a deepening food crisis. The pope expressed "deep concern" over conditions there, the Vatican said.

"The Vatican's intention to help create the conditions necessary to ensure the safety of the town's population and to organise vital supplies has been supported," the Kremlin said in a statement, adding: "It has been agreed to cooperate on this matter." The statement did not mention a ceasefire.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told reporters the call had been the pope's initiative. Leo and Putin are known to have spoken once before, in June 2025.

Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of blocking supplies to Oleshky, which lies in Ukraine's Kherson region and which Ukrainian forces want to retake. The town had a pre-war population of about 24,000; around 1,700 residents remain, including 47 children, according to Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

The Vatican said the pope, 71, is recovering in Rome's Gemelli hospital after surgery and is able to work. The Kremlin said Putin wished him a full recovery.

Source: NDTV (syndicated report).