Russia-Ukraine war: Melania Trump mediators locate ceasefire in Oleshky; everything you need to know about starving city | Today’s news
After more than a year of efforts by US President Donald Trump to negotiate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, First Lady Melania Trump announced on Friday (local time) that she had brokered a ceasefire between the two countries, which have been at war since February 2022.
The localized ceasefire, which is due to start next week in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshkiy, aims to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and the evacuation of civilians from what it says is “on the brink of disaster”.
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Oleshky: A war-torn town waiting for humanitarian aid
Ukrainian, Russian and US negotiators agreed on Friday to a ceasefire deal to provide humanitarian aid in the Russian-occupied, war-torn town of Oleshky, located in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region.
Oleshky lies across the Dnieper River from the larger city of Kherson, which Russian troops captured in early 2022 before withdrawing later that year. Russian forces based in Oleshky attack Kherson across the river, while Ukrainian troops fire on Oleshky from Kherson. Residents of Ukraine face some of the harshest conditions in Ukraine, with constant drone activity, widespread landmines and damaged infrastructure severely limiting both escape routes and access for humanitarian aid, the New York Times reported.
Previously, Ukrainians escaping from Oleshka traveled further into Russian-occupied territory before passing through Russia and Belarus to reach Ukrainian-controlled areas. The planned evacuation route remained unclear.
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Details of the truce brokered by Melania
Announcing her participation, the White House said that Melania, who has worked with officials from both countries on other matters, initiated the talks regarding Oleshka after learning about the situation in the war-torn city at one of its events during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in September. The White House added that the first lady, along with a deputy, worked directly with officials from both countries to define the terms of the ceasefire.
According to The New York Times, Melania said in a statement, “It was absolutely clear that without my intervention, the ability to bring humanitarian aid to the city and evacuate the elderly would have been impossible.” She added that a localized ceasefire would begin on Thursday.
In a statement, Melania also announced that she would send “an impartial American media organization to accompany and document the Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground.” The network is Newsmax, the NYT reported. Melania has reportedly been appealing directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin for more than a year to ensure dozens of Ukrainian and Russian children separated from their families are reunited with them after Putin launched a full-scale invasion.
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Marc Beckman, Melania’s adviser, told Newsmax that the first lady has a “direct line” to Ukrainian and Russian leadership. Beckman noted, “Both sides formally recognized her as a mediator in writing and gave her the authority to negotiate this truce,” adding, “And she’s been working tirelessly for over a month to make that happen.”
Russia and Ukraine confirm ceasefire
The ceasefire announcement was confirmed by both sides. According to the AP, Kiev’s chief negotiator said a local ceasefire with Moscow would begin on October 27 (Tuesday), two days before the mission began, and was expected to last several days.
Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, who led his country’s negotiations, said the ceasefire would cover the Kherson region and nearby areas needed to carry out the operation. He said the arrangement could serve as a model for future humanitarian efforts.
In a video message posted online earlier Friday, Lubinets thanked Melania and added that the deal would be difficult to implement. He noted that the agreement calls for a ceasefire followed by the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid. “The operation will take place gradually and is extremely difficult to implement,” he said.
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The chief of the Russian General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, said Russian troops would “cease fire on the Kherson axis” starting at 4 a.m. Tuesday in Moscow or late Monday in the United States “in connection with the humanitarian operation near Oleshka.” He added that the troops would also conduct an “engineering survey” and ensure the “safe movement of the humanitarian convoy” into the city.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was grateful to Melania, adding that Putin and the US president had recently discussed the effort.
The truce comes at a time when tensions between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky are rising and the US president is launching sharp attacks on them. Separately, Trump has also softened his stance on Putin and Russia over the same period, including waiving key Graham Act sanctions and reaching an agreement for Moscow to supply oil to the United States as midterm elections approach. Earlier this week, reports suggested Putin had also proposed a meeting with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit, and Trump had expressed a willingness to attend.
However, it remains to be seen whether the two sides will respect the ceasefire and allow the humanitarian operation to proceed safely.
