Pope Leo XIV calls Putin from his hospital bed to demand a ceasefire in starving Oleshky

Pope Leo XIV, still recovering from lung cancer surgery, called Vladimir Putin directly from Gemelli hospital on Friday to press for a ceasefire in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Oleshky, where no food deliveries have reached civilians since May and the population has been left without electricity, gas or running water. The Vatican said Leo urged Putin to open the city to food and medical aid and to allow trapped residents to leave voluntarily. Putin signalled his support for the Vatican's plan to assist civilians, and the Kremlin said both leaders agreed to coordinate their efforts.

Oleshky's hospital is barely functional, and the city has been cut off from humanitarian supplies for five months under Russian control.

The 71-year-old Pope had surgery on Tuesday — surgeons excised the lower lobe of his right lung after adenocarcinoma was confirmed — yet his doctors say his recovery is progressing well enough for him to carry out daily activities entirely on his own.

On Friday Leo celebrated Mass in a chapel set up inside the hospital; he is expected to deliver his Angelus prayer on Sunday, and Vatican staff are already laying cables at Gemelli in preparation for a possible live broadcast.