US-brokered ceasefire takes effect in Oleshky as strikes hit Kyiv

A localised ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump took effect at 3 am on Tuesday, 27 October, in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine. The pause is meant to let an aid mission enter the city later this week. It comes ahead of a new round of US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine, expected next month, aimed at ending a war that has lasted more than four and a half years.

Aid for residents

According to the UN, up to 2,000 people are stranded in Oleshky with dwindling food and medicine, unable to leave because of explosive mines and drone attacks. Trump's office said she led talks with civilian negotiators from Russia and Ukraine after meeting UN officials who briefed her on the situation in the town.

Negotiators from both countries and their militaries confirmed in separate statements that the ceasefire had begun. Announcing the deal last Friday, Trump said civilian officials from both sides would visit residents at home and determine what assistance they need. Those wishing to evacuate would receive coordinated support and transport to their preferred destination, she said, adding that she expected some would choose Russia and some Ukraine. Newsmax, a right-wing US cable network, has said it was granted exclusive television access to accompany observers entering the city on Thursday.

Strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv

Minutes after 3 am, several ballistic missile explosions shook Kyiv and air alerts sounded in multiple parts of Ukraine. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a strike hit the Southern Bridge across the Dnipro River, damaging metro infrastructure on it; city officials said train services over the bridge were suspended.

Late on Monday, Russian ballistic missiles damaged the grounds of a university in Kyiv, killing one person and injuring 10, city officials said. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, authorities said attacks killed two people and injured four. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote online that the world must see Russia showing nothing but a desire to kill and keep waging war.