Pope Leo XIV does not need any further treatment after surgery for lung cancer, the Vatican announced on Wednesday evening.
The Vatican press service said a new biopsy, carried out on tissue removed in the operation, led his doctors to conclude that more therapy is unnecessary.
The 71-year-old pope had the lower lobe of his right lung removed at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on 13 October.
The Vatican described the operation as successful and free of complications. It followed examinations that found a suspicious nodule.
After the surgery the Vatican said doctors were not considering chemotherapy or other treatment while awaiting further test results.
The pope was expected to remain in hospital for about a week, and his public schedule was cleared until at least 20 October.
Pope Leo XIV is back at work. A clearly delighted pontiff returned to St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, waving to Vatican pilgrims and blessing babies from his open-air popemobile as his first general audience began since undergoing lung cancer surgery just over one week ago.
European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno has announced a hunger strike to draw international attention to the humanitarian disaster in Russian-occupied Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast, she wrote on X on 20 October. The Italian lawmaker called on associations, citizens, and institutions to join her and demand a humanitarian truce, food and medicine for residents, and safe evacuation for those who want to leave.
Russia has occupied the left bank of the Dnipro in Kherson Oblast since 2022. Its forces have cut Oleshky off, leaving its remaining residents short of food and medicine, Ukrainian officials and UN monitors say. Oleshky had about 24,000 residents before the full-scale invasion. About 1,700 remain, including 47 children, Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said. Picierno’s protest adds to growing international pressure after Pope Leo XIV asked Russian leader Vladimir Putin for a truce to help the town.
“This battle cannot be mine alone”
In Oleshky, thousands of people are trapped in territory occupied by the Russian army, without regular access to food and medicine, Picierno wrote. Mined areas make escape extremely dangerous, she added.
“Those who stay risk dying of hunger, those who try to leave risk their lives,” she wrote. “To draw international attention to this emergency, I have announced a hunger strike. But this battle cannot be mine alone.”
She said the campaign is meant to support the efforts of Pope Leo XIV and others trying to avert a humanitarian tragedy. By the morning of 21 October, 277 people had joined the initiative, Liga reported.
Drones carry food packages across the Dnipro to starving residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, September 2026. Screenshot: Kherson Oblast Military Administration via Telegram
Picierno, who left Italy’s Democratic Party in June and joined the Renew Europe group, has backed military aid to Ukraine, tougher sanctions on Russia, and Ukraine’s bid to join the EU, according to Liga.
A town Kyiv calls a “death trap”
On 16 October, Pope Leo XIV expressed deep concern to Putin about the situation in Oleshky. He asked for a truce so that food and medical aid could be delivered and civilians could leave voluntarily and safely.
Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, has been under Russian occupation since 2022, following Russia’s capture of the city during the initial phase of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Dmytro Lubinets
A day later, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to help evacuate residents.
“Russians are trying to turn the Ukrainian town of Oleshky into a death trap,” Sybiha wrote. “Dozens of bodies lie in the streets or in homes, as Russians forbid residents from burying them.”
Ukraine has flown tons of food into the town by drone. Russian troops seize some of the parcels and accuse the people who receive them of cooperating with Ukraine, local officials say. A resident said eggs there cost nearly 20 times the US price.
Explore further
Russia holds 2,000 people hostage in Oleshky without food or water—Ukraine flew 4,000 kg of food to locals across the Dnipro
Evacuation talks “moved forward”
Talks with Russia on a ceasefire and evacuation are at the stage of “agreeing the final details,” Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on 18 October. He estimated that about 6,000 civilians, including up to 200 children, remain in Oleshky and six nearby settlements. He gave no timeline.
On 20 October, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was doing everything it could to help people in Oleshky, calling the situation there “simply terrible.”
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