Pope Leo XIV raised the fate of civilians in occupied Oleshky, a town in Kherson region on the Russian-held left bank of the Dnipro, with Vladimir Putin by telephone on 16 October1. The two agreed to cooperate on supplies for the town, according to the Kremlin readout. Kherson is one of the four Ukrainian regions Russia has pressed Kyiv to cede as a condition of peace talks.
17OCT
Pope Leo XIV raises Oleshky with Putin
1 min read
17:43UTC
Pope Leo XIV raised the plight of civilians in occupied Oleshky with Vladimir Putin by telephone on 16 October, and the Kremlin says they agreed to cooperate on supplies.
ConflictDeveloping
Deep Analysis
In plain English
Oleshky is a small town in southern Ukraine that Russia has occupied since 2022. It sits on the river Dnipro, opposite Ukrainian-held Kherson city. Pope Leo XIV, head of the Catholic Church, spoke with President Putin by telephone about the town on 16 October. The Kremlin says they agreed to work together on getting supplies to the people there.
Sources:Kremlin
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Kremlin· 17 Oct 2026
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