Melania Trump brokers local ceasefire for Oleshky aid mission

A temporary ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia began at 3 a.m. Tuesday in the town of Oleshky, located in the Kherson region. The pause in fighting was arranged to allow a humanitarian aid convoy to enter the area later this week. The local truce is scheduled to last through Saturday, though negotiators said it could be extended if conditions remain stable.

U.S. First Lady Melania Trump led the negotiations for this specific pause. Her office stated that she met with U.N. officials who briefed her on the conditions in Oleshky. Following those briefings, she worked with civilian negotiators from both Russia and Ukraine to secure the agreement. Both sides confirmed the ceasefire had started in separate statements issued after the 3 a.m. deadline.

The mission aims to deliver essential supplies to approximately 2,000 residents who are currently stranded in Oleshky. The U.N. reported that food and medicine stocks in the town are running low. Residents have been unable to leave the area due to the presence of explosive mines and frequent drone attacks. Negotiators said the convoy will carry doctors, medicines, food, and water before evacuation routes are opened for the remaining civilians.

The local truce comes as fighting continued in other parts of the country. Minutes after the ceasefire began, multiple ballistic missiles struck Kyiv. Air raid sirens sounded across several regions of Ukraine. City officials reported that attacks late Monday damaged the grounds of a university in the capital, killing one person and injuring ten. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, authorities said two people were killed and four others were injured in strikes late Monday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the continued attacks in an online post. He wrote that it is important for the world to see that Russia is showing a desire to kill and continue waging war. The local ceasefire is viewed as a precursor to broader U.S.-brokered talks expected next month. Those discussions aim to end the war, which has lasted more than four and a half years.

Oleshky is situated across the Dnipro River from the city of Kherson. The town is roughly 550 kilometers southeast of Kyiv. Russian forces captured Oleshky on the first day of the full-scale invasion in 2022. In June 2023, floodwaters inundated the town following a dam collapse. Russian troops previously held the city of Kherson but retreated across the river several months after the initial invasion began.