A temporary ceasefire took hold before dawn Tuesday in Oleshky, the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian city where up to 2,000 remaining residents have been surviving on garden weeds amid dwindling food and medical supplies.
The pause in fighting began at 3 a.m. local time, clearing the way for a long-awaited humanitarian relief mission into the city. The White House said the arrangement was first brokered by First Lady Melania Trump.
Oleshky has been under Russian control since the opening days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Caught between Ukrainian forces positioned across the Dnipro River and Russian troops to the east, the city’s trapped population has faced severe shortages, with drones and land mines restricting movement in and out.
Both Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, along with their respective militaries, confirmed in separate statements that the ceasefire had taken effect.
According to the terms of the agreement, the truce is meant to:
temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway.
The push for a pause in fighting followed a direct appeal from Pope Leo XIV to Russian President Vladimir Putin a week earlier, urging a halt to hostilities in the city.
Separately on Tuesday, Putin held a phone call with the leaders of Norway and Finland to discuss ending the broader war in Ukraine. The call marked a rare instance of direct engagement between the Russian president and European heads of state, whom the Kremlin has previously accused of prolonging the conflict through their support for Kyiv.
