Mediated by Melania Trump - ceasefire for occupied Ukrainian city

The humanitarian situation in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky is dramatic. Now there is hope for an evacuation. The White House announced a local ceasefire - brokered

Mediated by Melania Trump Ceasefire for Russian-occupied Ukrainian city As of: October 23, 2026 • 7:26 p.m

The humanitarian situation in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky is dramatic. Now there is hope for an evacuation. The White House announced a local ceasefire - brokered by First Lady Melania Trump.

The White House has announced a localized ceasefire for the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky. It should begin on October 29 and enable humanitarian aid and the evacuation of civilians via a safe corridor. Following the announcement from Washington, Ukraine and Russia also confirmed the agreement. According to this information, the ceasefire was supposed to begin on October 27th.

In Oleschky, food and medicine have been in short supply for months. The city located on the Dnipro - the river forms the front line here - has neither electricity, running water nor a functioning heat supply. Access roads are mined and drones are circling over the city. Aid organizations have been complaining about the humanitarian situation for a long time. Ukraine had repeatedly called for a local ceasefire in order to be able to bring people from Oleshky to safety.

The White House says Melania Trump initiated the talks and, together with a representative, negotiated the terms directly with the Russian and Ukrainian leadership. "The people of Oleshky have limited electricity, live amid mined streets and endure regular military attacks," the first lady said, according to the statement. "Oleschky is a front-line town that is on the verge of catastrophe."

The aim is to create permanent humanitarian corridors for the safe evacuation of civilians and the delivery of aid, said Davyd Arachamija, a confidant of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who has already taken part in negotiations in the past.

In mid-October, Pope Leo XIV called for a ceasefire in Oleschky during a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Pope "called for a ceasefire to enable the delivery of food and medical aid as well as the voluntary and safe evacuation of the civilian population," the Vatican said at the time.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any civilians who wanted to leave Oleshky would be allowed to do so. The evacuation operation is expected to take at least several days. Peskov also emphasized the first lady's role in the talks.

The First Lady had previously advocated for children separated from their families by the war, and therefore wrote to Putin about a year ago. Recently, however, there was little information about Melania Trump's further involvement in the negotiations. US President Donald Trump has recently been criticized for his course on Russia.

Melania Trump appealed to the Russian president last year

Before the Russian attack, around 24,000 people lived in Oleshky. Russian troops captured the city on the first day of their war of aggression in February 2022. There are currently said to be 1,700 to 2,000 people in Oleschky. According to the White House, these are mainly elderly people and 50 children.

In June 2023, the city was flooded after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. Hundreds of residents died. According to research by independent journalists and information from the Ukrainian government, Russia was responsible for blowing up the dam. To this day, Moscow blames Ukraine.

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Ukraine and Russia had previously announced another prisoner exchange. In addition, there could be direct talks between the two countries and the USA about ending the war again in November after a long interruption. The Russian president recently appeared open to this.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, negotiators from the three countries want to meet for technical talks in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November. He hopes that this will be followed by a meeting of heads of state and government, Zelensky said during a video link with the US think tank Hudson Institute. Ukraine had repeatedly accused the Russian government of delaying tactics in previous rounds of talks.

The Ukrainian president did not comment on the agreement for Oleschky during the video link. However, he again complained that the speed limits for the Starlink and Starshield satellite communication systems continued to exist, contrary to US President Trump's assurances.

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