Source : BRICS NEWS
WASHINGTON, October 23, 2026 — The office of US First Lady Melania Trump has announced a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid to reach trapped residents, BRICS News reported on X on Friday.
The post, published at about 10.06pm Malaysia time and marked “JUST IN”, read: “First Lady Melania Trump’s office announces week-long ceasefire in Ukrainian city of Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid.”
https://x.com/BRICSinfo/status/2113633282017378445
The White House said Melania Trump had “successfully secured” a localised ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the “front-line war city on the brink of disaster”, which is without medicine, food and clean water, the BBC reported. The White House said the truce would begin on October 29, while Ukraine and Russia both said their forces would stop firing at 2am GMT on October 27.
The BBC noted that the White House statement did not say how long the ceasefire would last, so the week-long duration given in the BRICS News post could not be independently confirmed.
According to the statement, Melania Trump and one of her representatives worked “directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms of the localised ceasefire”. She was quoted as saying that non-military civilian leaders from both countries would visit Oleshky residents in their homes to determine the help they need, and that those who wished to leave would receive transport to their preferred destination. “I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine,” she said.
Ukraine’s parliamentary ombudsman said the humanitarian mission agreement provides for a ceasefire, aid deliveries and free movement of people, Interfax-Ukraine reported. The Associated Press said the plan also includes clearing mines from routes and delivering food, medicine and hygiene supplies. Davyd Arakhamia, who leads President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party in parliament, said an operation to “unblock” Oleshky would begin soon, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that “those who wish to do so will be able to leave”.
Oleshky, in the Kherson region, was seized by Russian forces in the first days of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Trapped between Ukrainian positions across the Dnipro River and Russian forces to the east, residents have recently resorted to eating garden weeds to survive, the BBC said. The city has been without gas or electricity since 2023 and was also hit by massive flooding after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam that year.
Oleshky was home to about 24,000 people before the invasion. Ukraine estimates that some 6,000 people remain in the city and surrounding areas, including 200 children. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said the population lives under a “full blockade” by Russian forces, while the Kremlin acknowledged in September that the city faced “a critical situation” with food and medicine supplies.
Melania Trump has previously been involved in humanitarian issues linked to the war, including efforts since 2025 to reunite Ukrainian and Russian children with their families, with some 34 children reportedly returned so far.
Source: BRICS News on X, the BBC, the Associated Press and Interfax-Ukraine.
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