2,000 people remain in Oleshky as local truce begins

U.S. first lady Melania Trump brokered a localized ceasefire that took effect at 3 a.m. Tuesday in southern Ukraine. The pause in fighting is scheduled to last through Saturday to facilitate a humanitarian mission into Oleshky. This town is currently under Russian control in the Kherson region.

Trump led discussions with civilian negotiators from both sides following briefings from United Nations officials. Her office confirmed she mediated the agreement. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators and their respective militaries issued separate statements verifying the start of the truce.

The primary goal is to deliver essential supplies to an estimated 2,000 civilians stranded in the town. The United Nations reports that residents have limited access to food and medicine. Explosive mines and frequent drone attacks have prevented most from escaping on their own.

Aid teams plan to transport doctors, medical supplies, food, and water into Oleshky before opening evacuation corridors. This operation is set to occur ahead of a new round of U.S.-brokered peace talks. Those talks are expected next month and aim to end a war that has lasted more than four and a half years.

Despite the local truce, missile attacks continued in other parts of Ukraine. Minutes after 3 a.m., ballistic missile explosions shook Kyiv while air alerts sounded across the country. Late Monday, Russian missiles damaged the grounds of a university in the capital. City officials said one person died and 10 were injured in that strike.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, authorities reported that attacks late Monday killed two people and injured four. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted online shortly after the strikes. He stated that Russia is showing a desire to kill and continue waging war.

Oleshky lies about 550 kilometers southeast of Kyiv across the Dnipro River from the city of Kherson. Russian forces captured the town on the first day of their 2022 full-scale invasion. In June 2023, floodwaters from a dam collapse further damaged the area. Deep mistrust between the two nations has previously thwarted similar ceasefire attempts.