Melania Trump Brokers Local Ceasefire in Russian-Occupied Oleshky

U.S. first lady Melania Trump, wife of President Donald Trump, has arranged a localized ceasefire in the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, the White House announced on Friday. The truce is meant to let humanitarian aid reach the town and allow civilians to be evacuated. Oleshky lies across the Dnipro River from Ukrainian-controlled Kherson and has been under Russian occupation since the first weeks of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

How it will work

Starting next Thursday, Oct. 29, civilian representatives from Russia and Ukraine will visit the roughly 2,000 residents who remain in Oleshky to assess what help they need. According to the White House, most are elderly, and about 50 children have also been unable to leave.

In a statement, Melania Trump said residents who wish to leave will receive coordinated support and transport to a destination of their choice. She expected that some would choose Russia and others Ukraine. She said her intervention enabled both countries to assign teams to settle the technical details, including clearing mines from heavily mined roads, and that all parties have worked around the clock since.

Background

Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of blocking supplies to the town's population, and Ukrainian forces have been trying to retake it. The Kremlin said earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Oleshky with Donald Trump and told him that Russia's human rights commissioner was working on humanitarian efforts there. Last Friday, Putin also told Pope Leo in a phone call that he backed a Vatican initiative to help deliver supplies to civilians in the town and was ready to cooperate, while blaming Ukraine for the dire humanitarian situation.

The announcement comes as Donald Trump pressures Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reach an agreement with Putin to end the war.