Pope Leo XIV spoke by phone on Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge a ceasefire in the southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky, which is currently occupied by Russian forces. The call came as the pope continues to recover from surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his right lung.
The Vatican said the pope expressed “deep concern” about the critical humanitarian conditions in Oleshky, located in the Kherson region. The city’s residents face severe shortages of food, medicine, and safe passage amid ongoing hostilities and Russian troop activity, including extensive mine-laying on evacuation routes. The pope called for a truce to facilitate delivery of essential aid and allow for the voluntary and safe evacuation of the approximately 2,000 civilians still trapped there, including around 50 children.
The situation in Oleshky has deteriorated amid regular drone strikes and artillery bombardments, effectively cutting off supply routes. Civilians attempting to flee face dangerous conditions along a 62-mile route dubbed the “Death Road” due to pervasive mines and ongoing attacks. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, also called attention to the desperate circumstances and appealed to Russia to permit civilian evacuations.
Pope Leo, 71, who underwent surgery on Tuesday to remove the lower lobe of his right lung after being diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer, appeared in good spirits during a Mass celebrated Friday in a makeshift chapel on the 10th floor of Rome’s Gemelli hospital. Vatican officials said he thanked medical staff for their care and praised their dedication to assisting the sick.
Doctors have reported that his recovery is progressing well, with chest X-rays showing positive signs and the pope resuming daily activities independently. Ongoing tests are still determining whether the cancer has spread, and no discharge date from the hospital has been announced.
The pope is expected to lead the traditional Angelus prayer on Sunday, though it remains unclear whether he will deliver it from the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican or from the hospital. The Angelus prayer is traditionally recited from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, drawing large gatherings of faithful. Past popes have delivered the prayer from hospital rooms during convalescence.
The Vatican also shared letters and drawings from children hospitalized at Gemelli, expressing support and prayers for the pope’s recovery. Among them was a letter from a young boy named Angelo, who has been hospitalized for over a month and expressed hope for the pope’s swift healing.
The pope’s outreach to Putin underscores continued international concern over the humanitarian impact of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The call for a truce in Oleshky comes amid signs of shifting international support in the conflict, with reports of restrictions by the United States on Kyiv’s drone operations and public comments from former U.S. President Donald Trump criticizing Ukraine’s leadership and military actions.