Melania Trump brokers ceasefire for aid mission to Oleshky

A localized ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia took effect at 3 a.m. Tuesday to facilitate a humanitarian aid mission in southern Ukraine.

The pause in fighting was arranged by U.S. first lady Melania Trump to enable the delivery of supplies to the town of Oleshky in the occupied Kherson region. According to her office, Trump led negotiations with civilian representatives from both nations after receiving briefings from United Nations officials on the conditions in the town.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, along with their respective militaries, confirmed in separate statements that the ceasefire had begun. The truce is scheduled to last through Saturday, though previous attempts at similar pauses have failed due to deep mistrust between the two sides.

The aid mission is designed to transport doctors, medicines, food, and water to Oleshky before evacuation corridors are opened. United Nations officials report that up to 2,000 people remain stranded in the town, facing dwindling resources because they are unable to leave due to explosive mines and drone attacks.

This local agreement occurs ahead of a new round of U.S.-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine expected next month. Those discussions aim to end the war after more than 4.5 years of continuous fighting.

Despite the truce in the south, missile attacks resumed in the capital. Minutes after the ceasefire took effect, ballistic missile explosions shook Kyiv, and air alerts sounded across multiple parts of the country. Late Monday, Russian ballistic missiles damaged the grounds of a university in Kyiv, killing one person and injuring ten, city officials said. In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, authorities reported that attacks late Monday killed two people and injured four.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in an online post shortly after the latest strikes that Russia was showing a desire to kill and continue waging war. Oleshky was captured by Russian forces on the first day of the full-scale invasion in 2022 and suffered further damage in June 2023 when floodwaters inundated the town following a dam collapse.