Local ceasefire begins in Oleshky for aid delivery

A localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine took effect at 3 a.m. on Tuesday. The pause in fighting is set to continue through Saturday, or possibly longer. Both sides confirmed the start of the truce in separate statements. The primary goal of the arrangement is to open a humanitarian corridor into the town of Oleshky.

U.S. First Lady Melania Trump led the negotiations for this specific pause. Her office stated that she met with United Nations officials who briefed her on conditions in the town. She then worked with civilian negotiators from both Russia and Ukraine to finalize the terms. The mission aims to deliver doctors, medicines, food, and water to the area before evacuation routes are opened.

Up to 2,000 people remain stranded in Oleshky. According to the United Nations, these residents are unable to leave because of explosive mines and drone attacks. Food and medicine supplies are running low. The town is located in the partially occupied Kherson region, about 550 kilometers southeast of Kyiv. It sits across the Dnipro River from the city of Kherson.

Missiles struck Kyiv minutes after the ceasefire began. Multiple ballistic missile explosions shook the capital, and air alerts sounded across parts of the country. Earlier late Monday, Russian ballistic missiles damaged the grounds of a university in Kyiv. City officials said one person died and 10 were injured in that attack. 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 latest strikes. He wrote that it is important for the world to see Russia's desire to kill and continue waging war. Deep mistrust between the two nations has thwarted previous attempts at ceasefires. This local truce is planned ahead of a new round of U.S.-brokered talks expected next month. Those talks aim to end the war after more than four and a half years of fighting.

Russian forces captured Oleshky on the first day of their full-scale invasion in 2022. The town faced further damage in June 2023 when floodwaters from a dam collapse inundated the area. Russian forces initially seized the regional capital of Kherson in early 2022 but retreated across the river several months later. The Dnipro River now separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in the region.