First lady Melania Trump’s ceasefire in a Russian-occupied Ukrainian city successfully took effect early Tuesday morning, according to Moscow and Kyiv.
Trump revealed last week that she had brokered the ceasefire in Oleshky, in a move she said would allow humanitarian aid to enter and to create a safe passageway for trapped civilians to exit the area on Friday. The small town near the Crimean Peninsula is on the front line of the war and has been devastated by the conflict, with some starving residents resorting to eating weeds to stay alive.
David Arakhamia, who helps lead Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party in Parliament, hailed the ceasefire as “the largest de-escalation since 2022,” when the Russia-Ukraine war began. He said the truce would last through Nov. 1, saying “every such de-escalation effort brings the long-awaited peace in Ukraine closer.” Zelensky’s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, was among other officials in Ukraine who confirmed the ceasefire took effect, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday no violations of the ceasefire have been recorded around Oleshky.
“I want to hope that things will indeed work out this way, that the agreement will actually be implemented, and that the Russian side will keep its word,” Kyiv resident Olha Haiduk told Reuters.
The truce comes as drone attacks and buried landmines have made it difficult for residents to escape the city, while also hampering the delivery of food and medicine into the area. No shops are open as the city has had no electricity, gas, or water for three years, and only one hospital remains partially operational, according to the BBC. Before the war, Oleshky was home to roughly 24,000 residents. Around 1,700 appear to remain as of October 2026.
Trump said last Friday she sought to bring about the ceasefire, which occurred after Pope Leo XIV made a direct appeal for peace in Oleshky, because it became “abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible.” The first lady said she worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms of the localized ceasefire, initiating discussions with both nations “in her formal role as Exclusive Intermediary.”
Her work drew praise from both Kyiv and Moscow, with the Kremlin expressing hope Monday that Oleshky’s truce could set a precedent for similar humanitarian pauses in other areas where civilians need assistance.
“For humanitarian purposes, absolutely, especially when we are talking about the direct, very positive coordinating involvement in this process of the American side, American negotiators, and US First Lady Melania Trump,” Peskov stated.
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Budanov said on X Tuesday morning that it is “critically important that this mission to rescue our people be carried out successfully and safely.
“I am sincerely grateful to everyone involved in carrying out and supporting this operation,” he said.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
