Melania Trump Negotiates Oleshky Aid Corridor Set for October 29

A pause in fighting is scheduled to begin in Oleshky on October 29, allowing humanitarian supplies to enter and residents to evacuate the Russian-held city. The White House announced the arrangement on Friday, stating that military action from both sides will halt to open a designated passage for aid and civilian transport. Non-military teams from Russia and Ukraine will visit homes to help residents leave for either country.

Melania Trump worked with representatives of both nations to set the terms of the localized stop in hostilities, according to the White House. "The situation in Oleshky is dire," she said in a statement. The city holds between 1,700 and 2,000 residents, including about 50 children, down from a population of roughly 24,000 before the war. The White House said about 90 per cent of the city was flooded after the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed.

Ukraine's chief negotiator, David Arakhamia, wrote on Telegram that the humanitarian operation would begin once the ceasefire takes hold. He said the accord followed a long process involving Melania Trump and Pope Leo, and would create a corridor for people to leave and assistance to arrive. The Kremlin said an evacuation would take at least a few days. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Russian forces will stop firing from 4 a.m. local time on October 27 to support the operation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Pope Leo he was ready to co-operate on conditions in Oleshky, and the two spoke by telephone last week, the Kremlin said. Fighting continued on Friday. Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport briefly suspended operations over a Ukrainian drone threat, and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defences downed 21 drones headed for the capital over two hours. The two sides also exchanged 270 prisoners each. Ukraine's acting prosecutor general, Anton Kovalskyi, said more than 19,000 Ukrainian civilians, including 762 children, have been killed since the full-scale invasion began.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States agreed to hold technical-level talks in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November. He told the Hudson Institute he had spoken with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff after their meeting with Putin earlier in the week. Zelenskyy said any peace deal would need strong security guarantees and 10 years of funding for Ukraine's army. On October 14, Zelenskyy said SpaceX had restricted Starlink service, which Ukrainian officials say hampers strikes and drone defence.