By Stefan J. Bos
A tense calm has returned to the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky, where the humanitarian ceasefire is intended to allow desperately needed food and medicine to reach civilians and provide safe evacuation routes.
Pope Leo personally appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing what the Vatican described as his “deep concern” about the humanitarian crisis. The pontiff also discussed the situation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the Pope himself had taken the initiative to help the besieged town.
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Oleshky had about 24,000 inhabitants. Today, roughly 2,000 remain, many of them elderly.
Among those who managed to escape was Vitaly, who fled with his wife and child after four years under Russian occupation.
He described how dwindling food supplies left his family facing a desperate choice.
“You look at the remains of your food products and realize that you have only one choice: either escape or die of starvation,” he told Reuters.
Vitaly survived a long and dangerous journey, including through areas contaminated by landmines.
Across the Dnipro River, in Ukrainian-controlled Kherson, residents have noticed less drone activity and shelling since the ceasefire began.
Thirty-seven-year-old Oleksandra described the unusual calm.
“The one thing I noticed, there are no drones buzzing in the sky,” she said.
Yet the temporary respite cannot erase the suffering caused by years of war.
Ninety-year-old Hennadii said several members of his family were serving in the Ukrainian military, while his wife faced the amputation of a leg after being wounded.
“One grandson is being treated in Ivano-Frankivsk hospital, and my wife will get her leg amputated,” he explained.
While the humanitarian ceasefire offers a rare respite in the Kherson region, Russian missile and drone attacks continue elsewhere in Ukraine, with civilians still facing death and destruction.
However, U.S. First Lady Melania Trump said the ceasefire had been expanded beyond Oleshky to allow humanitarian convoys to travel safely through additional parts of the Kherson region.
Despite the agreement, mined roads and damaged infrastructure continue to complicate efforts to deliver supplies and evacuate civilians from the occupied town.
For Oleshky’s remaining residents, the hope is that the temporary silence of the guns will finally bring food, medicine and safe passage out.
And for Pope Leo, the priority has been to secure a humanitarian lifeline for those trapped by the fighting.
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