Vatican City - Pope Leo XIV spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, the Vatican said, days after a similar call made by the pontiff to Russia's Vladimir Putin.
"The Holy Father recalled the grave situation in the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, and made reference to the request for a humanitarian ceasefire that he had presented to the President of the Russian Federation," the Vatican wrote in a note.
"His Holiness expressed the hope that cooperation between both parties will allow for the delivery of food and medical aid, and for the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population," it added.
The call to Zelensky comes two days after Leo (71) was discharged from Rome's Gemelli hospital, where he underwent a lung cancer operation on Tuesday.
From the hospital, Leo called Putin on Friday, at which point he urged a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine.
Residents of Oleshky are facing a worsening humanitarian crisis with shortages of food and medication as they are caught in the crossfire between Russian and Ukrainian troops.
After the call, the Kremlin said Putin had wished the pope a speedy recovery, but had explained to him "the Kyiv regime's responsibility for the difficult humanitarian situation" in Oleshky.
The calls to the leaders of Russia and Ukraine underscore the pope's willingness to keep working despite the operation that removed the lower part of his right lung, where a cancerous tumor had been detected.
On Sunday, in his first major public appearance since his hospitalization, he told the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square that he wanted to "gradually resume my activities".