Aid to Oleshky begins Oct. 29 after six-day wait

Russia and Ukraine will halt military action in the occupied city of Oleshky starting October 29. The White House announced the temporary ceasefire on Friday, attributing the agreement to direct negotiations led by Melania Trump. The truce aims to open a corridor for humanitarian aid and civilian evacuation in a region currently suffering from a severe food shortage.

The White House statement indicated that both nations agreed to stop all military operations within the city limits. This pause will allow non-military teams to enter homes and assist residents who wish to leave. The designated safe passage will connect the city to both Russian and Ukrainian sides. Officials noted that the remaining population consists largely of elderly individuals requiring medical care, medicine, food, and clean water.

Melania Trump described the situation in the front-line city as dire in the official statement. She said the area is on the brink of disaster. The White House data shows that Oleshky, located across the Dnipro River from Kherson, currently houses between 1,700 and 2,000 people. This includes about 50 children. Before the conflict began, the population stood at roughly 24,000. The city has been submerged to the extent that approximately 90 percent of the area is flooded following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam.

David Arakhamia, Ukraine’s top negotiator, confirmed the plan on Telegram. He stated that the humanitarian operation will commence once the ceasefire takes effect. Arakhamia noted that the accord resulted from a lengthy process involving both Trump and Pope Leo. The Kremlin echoed the sentiment, praising Trump and stating that work was already underway to improve conditions in the city. Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told Pope Leo during a phone call last week that he was ready to cooperate on the issue.

Russian military leadership provided specific timing for the cessation of fire. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov announced that Russian forces would stop firing at 4 a.m. local time on October 27. This two-day lull precedes the formal start of the humanitarian operation on October 29. The Kremlin indicated that the evacuation process would take at least a few days to complete once the truce is active.

Separate diplomatic efforts continue in parallel with the local truce. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian, Russian, and American negotiators agreed to hold technical talks in Abu Dhabi during the first half of November. Zelenskyy told the Hudson Institute that he spoke with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff after their recent meeting with Putin. He emphasized that any final peace deal would require strong security guarantees and ten years of funding for Ukraine’s army.

Combat activities persisted elsewhere on Friday. Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport briefly suspended operations due to a drone threat. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that air defense systems downed 21 drones targeting the capital over a two-hour period. In a separate exchange, the two sides released 270 prisoners each. Anton Kovalskyi, Ukraine’s acting prosecutor general, reported that more than 19,000 Ukrainian civilians, including 762 children, have been killed since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.