MOSCOW, Oct 20 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Tuesday that work was under way to ease the humanitarian situation in the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, where residents have reported a worsening food crisis.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that President Vladimir Putin had discussed the situation in Oleshky with US President Donald Trump and told him that Russia’s human rights commissioner was engaged on the issue.
Putin told Pope Leo in a phone call on Friday that he supported a Vatican initiative to help deliver supplies to civilians in Oleshky and was ready to cooperate on the matter.
Russia and Ukraine both accuse each other of blocking supplies to the population of the town which Ukrainian forces want to retake.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov;Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Andrew Osborn )
