Localized Russia-Ukraine ceasefire takes effect in Oleshky in deal brokered by Melania Trump

MYKOLAIV, Ukraine (AP) — A localized ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia took effect early Tuesday ahead of a humanitarian mission led by U.S. first lady Melania Trump.

The pause in fighting started at 3 a.m. in Ukraine to allow an aid mission into the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine later this week.

According to her office, Melania Trump led talks with civilian negotiators from Russia and Ukraine after meeting with United Nations officials who briefed her on the situation in the town.

The aid mission is planned ahead of a new round of U.S.-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine expected next month and aimed at ending the war after more than 4 1/2 years of fighting.

Up to 2,000 people are stranded in Oleshky with dwindling supplies of food and medicine. They have been unable to leave because of explosive mines and drone attacks in the area, according to the U.N.

The ceasefire is due to last through Saturday, or longer, amid deep mistrust between Russia and Ukraine that has thwarted previous attempts at ceasefires.

Oleshky is in the partially occupied Kherson region, about 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Kyiv, where the Dnipro River separates Russian and Ukrainian forces.

It was captured by Moscow’s forces on the first day of their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Further calamity struck in June 2023 when floodwaters inundated the town due to a dam collapse.

Oleshky sits across the Dnipro River from the city of Kherson, the region’s administrative capital. Russian forces seized Kherson in the early stages of the 2022 invasion but retreated across the river several months later.

Negotiators involved in the aid mission said doctors, medicines, food supplies and water would be taken to Oleshky before evacuation corridors are opened.

The Associated Press