Melania Trump-backed local truce begins in Ukrainian city | Today’s news
Russia and Ukraine have halted fighting around Olesha, a war-ravaged town in Russian-controlled southern Ukraine, in a rare local ceasefire brokered with US first lady Melania Trump.
The temporary truce is to allow supplies to be delivered and to prepare for the evacuation of civilians trapped in Oleshky after prolonged fighting around the frontline town on the southern bank of the Dnieper River.
Both sides were sticking to their commitments under the local ceasefire, which began at 3 a.m. Kyiv time on Tuesday, according to Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner, and Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova, who posted separately on Telegram. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, also confirmed the ceasefire in a Telegram post.
The White House announced the humanitarian arrangement around Oleshky in a statement last week, crediting Melania Trump for brokering the deal and citing her as saying the city was “on the brink of disaster.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also welcomed the effort, saying the first lady “made a significant contribution to the coordination of the humanitarian operation,” Tass reported, without elaborating.
According to state intelligence, the evacuation could take several days.
Although the fighting at Oleshka had died down, hostilities continued elsewhere along the front line. Overnight, Russia launched ballistic missile fire against Kiev, hitting a university and disrupting road and underground traffic across the Dnieper via the key Pivdennyi Bridge.
The town of Oleshky is reportedly at the center of a humanitarian crisis, with food and medicine shortages and residents without running water and electricity. The city was captured by Russian forces at the start of their invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the situation there has deteriorated.
Melania Trump first noted at an event she hosted during the United Nations General Assembly in September that she used communication channels developed during her work with war-affected children to take up Oleshka’s cause, according to the White House, which cited her.
Russian and Ukrainian officials will be accompanied by an “impartial American media organization” during the trial, it said, without giving further details.
Earlier this month, Pope Leo XIV spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where the Pope expressed “deep concern over the serious humanitarian situation in the town of Oleshky.”
The Pope also spoke separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to express his hope for cooperation between Ukraine and Russia, which will allow the delivery of food and medicine and the safe and voluntary evacuation of civilians.
This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.
