Oleshky Truce Starts Oct. 29

The White House confirmed on Friday that Russia and Ukraine will pause fighting in the occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky starting October 29. This temporary ceasefire aims to allow aid workers to enter the area and prepare for civilian evacuations. The announcement credits Melania Trump with negotiating the terms directly with leaders from both nations.

Oleshky, located across the Dnipro River from Kherson, currently houses between 1,700 and 2,000 residents. This population includes roughly 50 children. The number represents a sharp decline from the pre-war population of approximately 24,000. The White House noted that about 90 percent of the city is flooded following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. Residents have reported a worsening food crisis in recent weeks.

Melania Trump described the situation in Oleshky as dire in a written statement. She said the remaining residents are mostly elderly people who urgently need medical care, medicine, food, and clean water. Her office stated that she and her representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to finalize the localized truce.

Under the agreement, non-military teams from both countries will visit residents in their homes. These teams will help arrange transport for those who wish to leave for either Russia or Ukraine. Ukraine’s top negotiator, David Arakhamia, posted on Telegram that the humanitarian operation begins once the ceasefire takes hold. He stated the accord resulted from a long process involving Melania Trump and Pope Leo, creating a corridor for exit and assistance.

The Kremlin said the evacuation process will take at least a few days to organize. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov announced that Russian forces will stop firing from 4 a.m. local time on October 27. This two-day lull precedes the official start of the humanitarian corridor on October 29. The Kremlin praised Melania Trump and noted that President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with Pope Leo last week. Putin told the Pope that Russia was ready to cooperate on the issue.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 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 spoke with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff after their meeting with Putin earlier in the week. He said any final peace deal would require strong security guarantees and 10 years of funding for Ukraine’s army.

Fighting continued in other areas on Friday. Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport briefly suspended operations due to a Ukrainian drone threat. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defenses downed 21 drones headed for the capital over two hours. The two sides also exchanged 270 prisoners each on Friday. Anton Kovalskyi, Ukraine’s acting prosecutor general, said more than 19,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed since the full-scale invasion began, including 762 children.