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Pope Leo tells Zelenskyy of his contacts with Moscow over trapped civilians in Oleshky
About 2,000 people remain in the occupied town in Kherson region with little food, water or medicine. Kyiv says a deal on a local ceasefire to evacuate them is close.
Key points
- Zelenskyy and Pope Leo XIV spoke on Monday about the humanitarian crisis in occupied Oleshky.
- About 2,000 residents remain in the town, cut off from aid by mined roads and drones.
- Ukraine's ombudsman says the sides are nearing agreement on a local ceasefire for an evacuation.
Pope Leo XIV told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday about his contacts with Russia over the fate of civilians trapped in Oleshky, an occupied town in the Kherson region where about 2,000 people are left with little food, water, electricity or medicine.
“His Holiness informed me about his contacts with the Russian side regarding this issue,” Zelenskyy wrote after the call. “We are working to help our people there and are preparing solutions.”
The Pope called Russian President Vladimir Putin on 16 October to urge a ceasefire that would let civilians leave the town. It was his second known call with Putin since he became pope in 2025. According to the Kremlin’s account, Putin blamed Ukraine for the crisis.
Oleshky has been under Russian occupation since the early days of the full-scale invasion. Mined roads, constant drone attacks and interrogations at Russian checkpoints make getting out almost impossible, and Russian forces are blocking Ukrainian and international aid.
On Sunday Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the two sides were close to agreeing a local ceasefire, which would let residents cross directly into Ukrainian-held territory instead of travelling through occupied areas, Russia and Belarus. No deal or start date had been announced by Monday night, and it was unclear how much the Vatican’s efforts had moved the talks.
Zelenskyy said he also raised the intensifying Russian attacks with the Pope, citing “recent instances where we did not receive advance warning from our partners.” The call came hours after Russia fired 16 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight.