New Delhi, Oct. 17 -- Three days after the Vatican said Pope Leo has lung cancer, he telephoned Vladimir Putin from his hospital room at Gemelli to plead for the civilians of Oleshky, a Dnipro river town under Russian control.

35 Moscow time, never uses the word ceasefire.

What the readout does say is that Putin thanked the pope for "his willingness to contribute to resolving the conflict," and that the pontiff received "a comprehensive explanation as to the Kiev regime's responsibility" for conditions in what the Kremlin calls the Russian town of Aleshki. Moscow also backed the Vatican's intention to help bring safety and "vital supplies" to residents, and "the two sides agreed to cooperate in this regard." Both sides, it added, stress...