Melania Trump's Oleshky Ceasefire Collides With New Kyiv Missile Strikes
A six-day pause in fighting began in southern Ukraine to allow aid and evacuations, even as Russian ballistic missiles hit the capital early Tuesday.
By Marta Price ·
A local ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine took effect at 3 a.m. Tuesday in southern Ukraine. The pause in hostilities was arranged to facilitate a humanitarian mission into the occupied town of Oleshky. U.S. First Lady Melania Trump led the negotiations for this specific truce.
Up to 2,000 people remain stranded in Oleshky. The United Nations reports that food and medicine supplies are running low. Residents cannot leave the area due to a dense network of explosive mines and ongoing drone attacks. The aid mission is scheduled to deliver doctors, medicines, food, and water before evacuation corridors are opened.
The ceasefire is set to last through Saturday, with the possibility of extension. Both Russian and Ukrainian negotiators confirmed the start of the pause in separate statements. Their respective militaries also acknowledged the agreement. This local truce comes ahead of a new round of U.S.-brokered talks expected next month. Those broader discussions aim to end the war after more than 4.5 years of conflict.
Despite the pause in the south, missile attacks resumed in the capital. Minutes after 3 a.m., multiple ballistic missile explosions shook Kyiv. Air alerts sounded in several parts of the country. City officials reported that Russian missiles had already damaged a university grounds in Kyiv late Monday. One person died and 10 were injured in that earlier strike.
Attacks also struck Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, late Monday. Authorities said two people were killed and four were injured. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the strikes in an online post. He stated, "It is important that the world sees that Russia is showing nothing but a desire to kill and continue waging war."
Oleshky is located in the partially occupied Kherson region. The town sits on the bank of the Dnipro River, about 550 kilometers southeast of Kyiv. Russian forces captured the area on the first day of the full-scale invasion in 2022. A dam collapse caused severe flooding in the town in June 2023. Deep mistrust between the two sides has previously hindered ceasefire efforts, raising questions about whether this pause will hold.
Source: WLRN
