A Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine is set to get a brief pause in the war so aid can get in and residents can get out A small city in southern Ukraine, cut off for months by fighting, is set to get a brief pause in the 4 1/2-year-old war so that aid can get in and residents can get out. U.S. first lady Melania Trump brokered the localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine around Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city she said is “on the brink of disaster.” Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. negotiators reached the deal Friday. Officials on all sides have confirmed it, but many details have not been released.
Oleshky is located in Ukraine's partially occupied Kherson region. It sits on the Dnipro River, which separates Ukrainian forces from the city’s Russian occupiers. Moscow’s forces captured it on the first day of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Its buildings were shelled and burned. In June 2023, floodwaters swamped the city after the Kakhovka Dam collapsed in an explosion that an investigation found was likely caused by the Russian military. Hundreds of residents were killed.
Once home to about 24,000 people, the city has had scarce food and medical supplies for months. There is no electricity, heat or running water. Roads out of town are mined and lined with burned-out cars, and drones buzz overhead.
With another harsh winter approaching, those still there face death from hunger or disease. Ukraine has repeatedly appealed for a local ceasefire to organize evacuations. As the occupying power, Russia is obligated under international law to make sure civilians under its control have what they need to survive.
The deal sets out three stages: a ceasefire, then delivery of humanitarian aid, then evacuation of civilians who want to leave Oleshky, according to Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman and its chief negotiator in the talks. Before any aid moves, mines will be cleared on the routes into the city, Lubinets said. Russia’s human rights ombudswoman, Yana Lantratova, who took part in the negotiations, said firstly they plan to establish what residents need and then deliver food, medicine, hygiene products and other essentials.
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