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Truce Begins in Oleshky to Facilitate Aid and Evacuations

Updated 10:45 PM ET · 6:36 AM ETConfirmed

World Desk

In Short: According to the White House, the ceasefire is meant to allow humanitarian aid to enter Oleshky and establish a safe passage for residents seeking to leave.

The truce, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, began early Tuesday morning, with both sides agreeing to temporarily suspend military operations in the southern Ukrainian city.

According to the White House, the ceasefire is meant to allow humanitarian aid to enter Oleshky and establish a safe passage for residents seeking to leave.

The humanitarian situation in Oleshky has been dire, with residents facing severe shortages of food and medicine. Many have resorted to cooking garden weeds to survive.

Both sides began observing the truce at 3:00 am local time (01:00 GMT) on Tuesday, and as of 5:30 pm (1530 GMT), Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets reported no violations.

The truce is due to be in place until 23:59 local time on November 1, according to Davyd Arakhamia, a Ukrainian MP who heads Zelensky's party in parliament.

Vladimir Saldo, a Moscow-installed official in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, told Russian media that those wishing to evacuate could go to Russian-occupied Crimea or Rostov in southwestern Russia, but would need to wait until the heavily-mined road from the city had been cleared.

Despite the truce, concerns remain about its stability. A resident told the BBC, 'I don't believe in Russia's humanity.'

The Vatican also played a role in securing the ceasefire, with Pope Leo XIV calling for a halt to the fighting to allow the delivery of food and medical assistance and the voluntary and safe evacuation of civilians.

The Kremlin blamed Ukraine for the crisis but backed the Vatican’s initiative, while Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets called the city 'a death trap.'

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed that Ukraine's Defense Forces would carry out all orders regarding the mission in Oleshky, with the expectation of guaranteed access to the city.

Background

What's confirmed

• The truce, which the White House said was secured by US First Lady Melania Trump, is meant to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuation on Friday.
• Ukraine now estimates some 6,000 people, including 200 children, remain in the city and its surrounding areas.
• US First Lady Melania Trump has helped broker a localised ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the war-hit Ukrainian city of Oleshky, the White House announced on Friday, October 23.
• Tue, Oct 27, 2026 | Jumada al-Awwal 15, 1448 | Fajr 05:05 | DXB 31.5 °C US first lady Melania Trump has secured a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the Russian-controlled city of Oleshky, which will begin on October 29, the White House said on Friday.
• BBC- A truce has begun in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky, a week after it was announced by US First Lady Melania Trump.
• Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram it had stopped firing toward the Ukrainian city of Kherson - across the river from Oleshky - at 04:00 Moscow time (01:00 GMT) in preparation for the humanitarian operation.
• The Vatican said that Pope Leo “expressed his deep concern about the grave humanitarian situation in the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, and called for a ceasefire to allow the delivery of food and medical assistance, and the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population”.
• Earlier, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets called the city “a death trap,” and said Russian authorities had failed to uphold previously agreed arrangements for a humanitarian mission to evacuate civilians.
• Kyiv time, on October 27, to carry out a humanitarian operation in the temporarily occupied city, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
• Many worry the truce will not hold, with one resident saying: "I don't believe in Russia's humanity." Oleshky, home to 24,000 people before the war, was seized by Russia during the first days of its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
• No shops are open, and the city has had no electricity, gas or water for three years.
• Many residents have resorted to cooking garden weeds to survive, telling the BBC they are suffering extreme hunger and want to leave.

What's still developing

• “The missiles hit very crowded areas, and there is not a single military facility nearby. This was a strike directly on the city, on its infrastructure,” he said on social media.
• The fire broke out on 14 September near an arms factory in the central city of Brasov and two Belarusians and a Ukrainian – residents in EU countries – were involved, authorities said.
• The call suggests the pontiff, who is recovering from a lung cancer operation, is still hard at work Pope Leo spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Friday, calling for a ceasefire in a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine, as he recovers in hospital from a lung cancer operation.
• On the night of July 30, Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles at Lviv, a city just 45 miles from the Polish border, killing a 35-year-old police officer and injuring 38 people.
• Someone who has been speaking to family in Oleshky said they fear shooting could restart during evacuations and Ukraine will somehow be blamed for not upholding the truce.
• A ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky will begin October 29 to allow humanitarian aid and evacuations of elderly residents, the White House announced this week A ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky will begin October 29 to allow humanitarian aid and evacuations of elderly residents, the White House announced this week Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later?
• "My acquaintances are ready to leave," she said.
• And despite the new U.S. pressure, Ukraine has continued to launch powerful drone strikes against Russia’s energy infrastructure, including successful mid-October attacks on an oil terminal in St. Petersburg and industrial gas processing plants as far away as Surgut and the Novy Urengoy, 1,800 miles from the Ukrainian border.
• Russian strikes launched against Ukraine overnight into Saturday included 27 ballistic missiles and only one of them was intercepted, “simply because there are no interceptors for the Patriot system”, Zelenskyy said.
• A large ballistic missile attack pounded Kyiv early on May 24, authorities said, wounding at least five people after Moscow threatened retaliation for strikes in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.
• More than 600 drones and dozens of missiles, such as advanced hypersonics, were fired on Ukraine, according to the military, hitting key civilian infrastructure.
• “Pope Leo personally called Putin and Zelenskyy, pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine. Now the Trump White House is trying to give MELANIA TRUMP the credit, completely ignoring the Pope’s efforts!” wrote former Biden aide Chris Jackson.

Sources

• BBClink
• Breitbart Newslink
• IBTimes Indialink
• Irish Independentlink
• People Dailylink
• Taipei Timeslink
• The Guardianlink
• The Manila Timeslink
• Times of Surinamelink
• Uzalendo Newslink
• https://globalpost.com/link
• Al Jazeeralink
• Thediplomaticinsightlink
• Kyivpostlink
• Khaleejtimeslink
• Foreignaffairslink
• The Sunday Guardian — video link