Oleshky truce begins Oct. 29 to aid 2,000 residents

Residents in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky will see a pause in combat starting October 29, according to a White House announcement made on Friday. The temporary ceasefire is designed to open a safe passage for humanitarian aid and to facilitate the evacuation of civilians. The administration credited Melania Trump with negotiating the terms of the localized truce with both Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

The city, located across the Dnipro River from Kherson, currently holds between 1,700 and 2,000 people, including approximately 50 children. This population represents a sharp decline from the pre-war figure of roughly 24,000. The White House stated that about 90 per cent of Oleshky remains flooded following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. Non-military teams from both sides will enter the city to visit residents and arrange transport for those wishing to leave for either Russia or Ukraine.

Melania Trump described the conditions in Oleshky as dire in a statement released by the White House. She noted that the remaining population consists primarily of elderly individuals requiring urgent medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water. Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia confirmed the arrangement on Telegram, stating that the humanitarian operation would commence once the ceasefire took hold. He acknowledged that the accord resulted from a long process involving both Trump and Pope Leo.

The Kremlin indicated that the evacuation process would require at least a few days to complete. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov specified that Russian forces would cease firing from 4 a.m. local time on October 27 to support the operation. The Kremlin praised Trump and noted that President Vladimir Putin had previously told Pope Leo he was ready to cooperate on the issue during a telephone call last week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that technical-level talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States are scheduled for the first half of November in Abu Dhabi. He told the Hudson Institute that he had spoken with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff following their meeting with Putin. Zelenskyy emphasized that any final peace agreement must include strong security guarantees and ten years of funding for the Ukrainian army.

These diplomatic moves follow two weeks of criticism from European allies and U.S. lawmakers regarding the administration's handling of the war. Fighting continued on Friday, with Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport briefly suspending operations due to a drone threat. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that air defenses downed 21 drones over two hours. In a separate development, the two sides exchanged 270 prisoners each, and Ukrainian acting prosecutor general Anton Kovalskyi reported that more than 19,000 civilians, including 762 children, have been killed since the invasion began.