VATICAN CITY – Pope Leo spoke on the telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday and “expressed his deep concern about the grave humanitarian situation” in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky, where thousands of citizens are starving, and called for a cease-fire there, the Vatican said Friday.
The pontiff spoke to Putin from his hospital bed in Rome as he was recuperating from an operation for lung cancer he underwent earlier this week.
“Today, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV spoke by telephone with His Excellency Mr Vladimir









