1,700 Oleshky residents wait six days for aid under new truce

The White House announced on Friday that a localized truce in the Russian occupied city of Oleshky will take effect on Oct. 29. The agreement pauses all military action in the area to permit humanitarian aid to reach civilians. A designated safe passage will also be established to facilitate the evacuation of residents.

Oleshky, situated across the Dnipro River from Kherson, currently holds a population of between 1,700 and 2,000 people. This group includes approximately 50 children. Before the war began, the city was home to roughly 24,000 inhabitants. The White House stated that 90% of the urban area is submerged in water following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. Residents have reported a deteriorating food crisis in the weeks leading up to the announcement.

Melania Trump credited as a key architect of the deal, the statement said her office worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to finalize the terms. "The situation in Oleshky is dire," she said in the release. She described the remaining population as consisting primarily of elderly individuals who require urgent medical care, medicine, food, and clean water. The White House noted that non military teams from both nations will visit residents in their homes to arrange transport for those wishing to leave for either Russia or Ukraine.

Ukraine’s top negotiator, David Arakhamia, confirmed the details on Telegram. He stated that the humanitarian operation would commence once the ceasefire is active. Arakhamia said the accord resulted from a lengthy process involving both Melania Trump and Pope Leo. The arrangement creates a corridor for people to exit and for assistance to enter the flooded zone.

The Kremlin indicated that the evacuation process would require at least several days. Russian officials praised the involvement of Melania Trump in the negotiations. They noted that preparations are underway to improve conditions in Oleshky after Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with Pope Leo last week. Putin told the pontiff he was prepared to cooperate on the issue.

Valery Gerasimov, the Russian Chief of the General Staff, specified that Russian forces will cease firing from 4 a.m. local time on Oct. 27. This two day buffer is intended to support the logistical operation before the formal truce begins. The timing places the start of the aid mission at the end of the month, leaving a gap between the announcement and the actual delivery of supplies.

Separate diplomatic efforts are also progressing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States agreed to hold technical level talks in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November. Zelenskyy told the Hudson Institute that he had spoken with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff following their meeting with Putin. He emphasized that any final peace agreement would require robust security guarantees and ten years of funding for Ukraine’s army.

These diplomatic moves follow two weeks of scrutiny regarding U.S. involvement in the conflict. European allies and members of both major U.S. political parties have criticized the administration’s approach. President Donald Trump recently struck a deal with Putin to import diesel and announced a ceasefire on energy attacks. Russia has not stopped its fire on energy infrastructure despite that pledge. On Oct. 14, Zelenskyy noted that SpaceX restricted Starlink service, a move Ukrainian officials say hampers strikes and drone defense.

Fighting continued on Friday despite the upcoming truce. Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport briefly suspended operations due to a Ukrainian drone threat. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that air defenses downed 21 drones heading for the capital over a two hour period. The two sides also exchanged 270 prisoners each. Anton Kovalskyi, Ukraine’s acting prosecutor general, stated that more than 19,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the full scale invasion began. That total includes 762 children.