Pope Leo XIV asks Putin for a ceasefire in occupied Oleshky, Ukraine

Pope Leo XIV held a phone call with Vladimir Putin and asked him to declare a ceasefire in the occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky. According to the Vatican, it is needed to deliver food and medical aid and carry out a voluntary and safe evacuation of civilians.

The Kremlin confirmed the call. According to Russian news agencies, Putin thanked the pontiff for the Vatican’s readiness to contribute to a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.

The pope’s condition after surgery

At noon the pope celebrated Mass in a makeshift chapel set up in the hospital. According to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, he celebrated it himself, gave communion to medical staff and Vatican police officers, and delivered a homily. In it he thanked the hospital staff for their daily care of the sick, and especially for the care they gave him.

According to a medical report signed by the pope’s personal physician Luigi Carbone and Gemelli hospital surgeon Stefano Margaritora, his post-operative recovery allows him to carry out daily activities entirely on his own.

Leo XIV, who is 71, underwent surgery on October 13 to remove the lower lobe of his right lung: before the procedure, doctors found a nodule suspected to be a malignant tumor. The operation confirmed an adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. Doctors are still waiting for test results that will clarify the tumor’s molecular and genetic characteristics, whether it has spread beyond the removed part of the lung, and whether further treatment will be needed.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz