Oleshky Truce Set for Oct. 29 to Aid 2,000 Residents

The White House confirmed on Friday that a temporary ceasefire will take effect in Oleshky on Oct. 29.

The localized truce aims to halt military activity so humanitarian aid can reach civilians and an evacuation can proceed along a designated safe route. The administration credited First Lady Melania Trump with securing the arrangement. Her representative worked directly with leadership in both Moscow and Kyiv to finalize the terms.

“The situation in Oleshky is dire,” Melania Trump stated, describing the front-line city as being on the brink of disaster. She noted that the remaining population consists mostly of elderly individuals who require medical care, food, and clean water.

The city, located across the Dnipro River from Kherson, currently holds between 1,700 and 2,000 residents, including about 50 children. This number is a sharp drop from the pre-war population of roughly 24,000. Approximately 90 percent of the city remains flooded following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam.

Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia wrote on Telegram that the humanitarian operation will commence once the ceasefire is in place. He stated the accord followed a long process involving both Trump and Pope Leo. The Kremlin said an evacuation would take at least a few days. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov announced that forces will stop firing from 4 a.m. local time on Oct. 27 to support the effort.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly told Pope Leo by telephone last week that he was ready to cooperate on the issue. The Kremlin praised Trump and said work was already underway to ease conditions for those staying behind. The announcement comes after two weeks of criticism from European allies and U.S. lawmakers regarding American involvement in the conflict.

Separately, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States agreed to hold technical 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. Fighting continued on Friday as Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport briefly suspended operations due to a drone threat. Air defences downed 21 drones headed for the capital over two hours, and the two sides exchanged 270 prisoners each.