Ukraine Warupdated 41m ago3 min read
MapRussia Suspends Strikes On Kherson As Melania Trump-Brokered Ceasefire Begins In Oleshky
“The agreement was announced on October 23 and brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, with the additional involvement of Pope Leo,”
“Up to 6,000 people including 200 children remain in Oleshky and its surrounding areas,”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
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Ceasefire in Oleshky takes effect, brokered by Melania Trump, to permit aid. Russia halts strikes in Kherson region to facilitate humanitarian mission.
Oleshky ceasefire begins
Russia suspended strikes on the Ukrainian province of Kherson as a localized ceasefire took effect at 01:00 GMT on Tuesday, to allow a humanitarian mission into the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in southern Kherson later this week. The White House said the pause was secured by US First Lady Melania Trump, and the agreement was announced on October 23 as Washington sought to revive peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv after more than four and a half years of fighting. The ceasefire is meant to enable aid deliveries and allow evacuations from the front-line town, which is suffering acute shortages of food, medicine and other basic supplies.
The United Nations said up to 2,000 people remain in Oleshky and have been unable to leave because of explosive mines and drone attacks in the area, while the town lies on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River opposite Kherson city held by Ukrainian forces. Russia’s Defence Ministry said the pause in fighting started at 01:00 GMT on Tuesday, while the arrangement was due to last through Saturday, or longer, amid deep mistrust between Russia and Ukraine that has thwarted previous attempts at ceasefires.
Humanitarian mission and doubt
Melania Trump said, “The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,” as the localized truce aimed to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Zelensky's office, said, “It is critically important that this mission to rescue our people proceeds successfully and safely,” as residents in Oleshky faced extreme hunger and mined routes out of the town.
A BBC resident said, “I don't believe in Russia's humanity,” as the BBC reported that many residents had resorted to cooking garden weeds to survive.
The Russian Defence Ministry said it would implement a “regime of silence” in the Kherson direction from 4 am Moscow time on Oct. 27 to facilitate humanitarian operations, while Ukraine’s General Staff said it would implement a localized ceasefire from 3 am Kyiv time the same day.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, wrote that the operation was being carried out with the mediation and co-ordination of US First Lady Melania Trump, in co-operation with Yana Lantratova, Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights.
What comes next
Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Moscow would conduct engineering reconnaissance and facilitate the safe passage of a humanitarian convoy to the settlement of Oleshky, Kherson Region, as the ceasefire was used to prepare for evacuations. The BBC reported that a woman told it she had stepped on a land mine and was currently in hospital where she had undergone two operations, and she said, “I don't know how long I will have to spend there,” worried about not being able to join the evacuation. The White House said civilian officials from both countries would visit residents to assess their needs, and Melania Trump said, “I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine,” as the mission prepared roads to be cleared of mines.
Ukraine’s General Staff urged people not to trust unverified reports or spread rumours about “the routes, time and place of the movement of people and humanitarian convoys,” as the truce faced uncertainty about whether it would hold. The BBC said Pope Leo XIV appealed earlier this month to Russia's Vladimir Putin to allow food and medical aid into Oleshky as well as a safe evacuation, and urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to co-operate with Moscow over a ceasefire.