A localised ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump began in Russian-occupied Oleshky on 27 October, pausing fighting so aid can reach up to 2,000 stranded civilians later this week.
A localised ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump took effect in the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky early on Tuesday 27 October, clearing the way for a humanitarian mission due to enter later this week. Russia's Defence Ministry said the pause began at 01:00 GMT, equivalent to 3 am local time, and Moscow suspended strikes on the wider Kherson province. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, as well as both countries' militaries, confirmed in separate statements that the truce had started, according to Euronews and Al Jazeera.
Up to 2,000 people remain in Oleshky, a town that had about 24,000 residents before the war, and the United Nations says they have been unable to leave because of explosive mines and drone attacks, while food and medicine run short. Russian forces seized the town in the first days of the February 2022 invasion, and it was hit hard by flooding after the destruction of the nearby Kakhovka Dam in 2023. Negotiators say doctors, medicines, food and water will be brought in first, before evacuation corridors open for residents who wish to leave for either Russia or Ukraine. The agreement was announced on 23 October, with Pope Leo also involved, and is due to last through Saturday or longer.
The pause comes amid deep mistrust between the two sides, which has thwarted earlier ceasefire attempts, and as fighting continued elsewhere. Minutes after 3 am, ballistic missile explosions shook Kyiv, and the city's mayor said a strike damaged the Southern Bridge over the Dnipro and halted train services across it; a Russian strike on Monday night also killed one person near a Kyiv university. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attacks showed Russia's desire to keep waging war. The aid mission is planned ahead of a new round of US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine expected next month, aimed at ending a war now in its fifth year.
