Credit : BRICS News's X
A localised ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine took effect in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine early on Tuesday, October 27, under a deal brokered by United States First Lady Melania Trump, BRICS News reported.
The pause in fighting began at 3 a.m. Kyiv time, which is 4 a.m. Moscow time, and is meant to open the way for a humanitarian mission to deliver aid to the city and allow civilians to leave. According to the Associated Press, the aid mission itself is planned for later this week.
Ukraine’s parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, who heads the Ukrainian negotiating team, said the ceasefire was intended to create the conditions to deliver humanitarian aid to residents who remain in Oleshky and to organise the safe movement of civilians. Ukrainian outlet Ukrinform reported that Lubinets held an online meeting with the head of the Russian negotiating team, Russian human rights ombudswoman Yana Lantratova, during which both sides confirmed the timing and said the agreement was being carried out as planned.
Lubinets has described the mission as having three stages: a ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and then the free movement of civilians out of the city. In an interview with Ukrainian broadcaster 24 Channel, he said the agreement does not allow either side to move military equipment or bring in supplies during the pause. Instead, the time is to be used for demining routes into Oleshky, delivering aid and technical equipment for the local hospital, and ensuring civilians can leave freely.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Ukraine was observing the ceasefire in the designated area and urged citizens to rely only on official information about the operation. It warned that sharing unverified details about routes, times or locations of civilian movements and aid convoys could put people at risk. The Russian side said its forces were also observing the ceasefire in the Oleshky area and would ensure safe passage for the humanitarian convoy, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
Oleshky lies on the left bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region and has been under Russian occupation and cut off by fighting for months. Melania Trump has said the city is “on the brink of disaster”. News reports put the number of residents still trapped there at between about 1,700 and 2,000, facing mines, drone attacks and shortages.
The deal was reached on Friday, October 23, by Ukrainian, Russian and US negotiators. In a statement released by the White House that day, the First Lady said she and her representative had worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to set the terms of the localised ceasefire, in what the White House called her formal role as “Exclusive Intermediary”. The statement said both countries had agreed to temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky so that aid could enter and a civilian evacuation could be prepared through a designated safe passageway.
“Non-military, civilian leaders from both countries will work together to visit Oleshky residents in their homes and determine the level of assistance they require. Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destination. I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine,” Melania Trump said in the statement. She added that she had secured “an impartial American media organization” to accompany and document the Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground.
The First Lady said the channel used for the Oleshky talks had been built through her earlier work with both countries on six reunifications involving 34 children. According to her office, she also met United Nations officials who briefed her on conditions in the city before talks began.
The Oleshky mission comes ahead of a new round of US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine, the Associated Press reported. Lubinets said the Ukrainian, Russian and American sides had agreed to report results after each stage of the mission is completed.
Source: BRICS News on X
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