Pope Leo XIV Speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Urges Ceasefire in Occupied Oleshky

Pope Leo XIV urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in occupied Oleshky to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations. The Kremlin blamed Ukraine for the crisis but backed the Vatican’s initiative. Earlier, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets called the city “a death trap,” and said Russian authorities had failed to uphold previously agreed arrangements for a humanitarian mission to evacuate civilians.