US-brokered truce takes effect in Russian-held Oleshky as Russian missiles hit Kyiv

A localised ceasefire announced by US First Lady Melania Trump took effect early on Tuesday in the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky, Euronews reported. The pause began at 3 am Kyiv time and is intended to open the way for an aid mission into the town later this week.

Both sides confirmed it. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, who heads the Ukrainian negotiating team, said the truce applied to designated areas linked to the humanitarian operation, according to The Kyiv Independent. He said the arrangement was negotiated with Yana Lantratova, who leads the Russian team. Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces had stopped fighting in the area, and Al Jazeera noted that Moscow also suspended strikes on Kherson province.

Aid before evacuation

Al Jazeera reported that the pause is due to last through Saturday, or longer. The Kyiv Independent, citing the Associated Press, said fighting is supposed to stay frozen until at least that day. Negotiators told Al Jazeera that doctors, medicines, food and water would be delivered first, with evacuation corridors opened afterwards.

Announcing the deal last Friday, Melania Trump said civilian officials from both Russia and Ukraine would visit residents in their homes to establish what help they need. Those wishing to leave would receive coordinated transport to the destination of their choice, she said, adding that she expected some to choose Russia and others Ukraine. Her office said she held the talks with civilian negotiators after being briefed by UN officials. Al Jazeera added that Pope Leo was also involved in the mediation.

Euronews said the right-wing US network Newsmax had been granted exclusive television access to accompany observers entering the town on Thursday.

A town cut off

According to the UN, as many as 2,000 people remain in Oleshky, short of food and medicine and unable to get out because of mines and drone attacks. Al Jazeera put the pre-war population at 24,000. The town lies on the Dnipro's eastern bank opposite Kherson city, and Russian troops took it in the first days of the February 2022 invasion. It was also badly flooded after the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed in 2023.

The Kyiv Independent wrote that Russian forces have effectively blockaded the town and prevented aid from entering, and that the worsening conditions have drawn international attention in recent weeks, including from Pope Leo.

Kyiv under fire

The calm in Kherson did not extend to the rest of the country. Within minutes of the pause starting, Russian ballistic missiles struck other parts of Ukraine, including the capital, and air alerts sounded widely. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said a strike hit the Southern Bridge over the Dnipro and damaged metro infrastructure on it, and city officials said train services across the bridge were suspended.

Klitschko also said a blast wave shattered windows in an intensive care unit at one medical facility and in two wards at another. Late on Monday, ballistic missiles had already hit the grounds of a university in the city. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the missiles struck very crowded areas, with no military facility nearby, and wrote that Russia was showing only a desire to keep waging war.

What comes next

The aid mission is planned ahead of a new round of US-brokered Russia-Ukraine talks expected next month, as Washington tries to end a war that has run for more than 4½ years. Al Jazeera noted that deep mistrust between the two sides has undermined earlier ceasefire attempts, and it remains unclear whether the Oleshky pause will hold beyond Saturday.