White House announces temporary, localized Ukraine-Russia ceasefire in Oleshky from Oct. 29, with safe corridors planned for aid and civilian evacuations

The White House announced a temporary, localized ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia in Oleshky. The office of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump said the agreement, reached through her mediation, will take effect on Oct. 29 to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations through safe corridors.

Oleshky is on the left bank of the Dnipro River in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region. The town has been cut off from the outside world, and starvation has been reported there.

About 20,000 people lived in Oleshky when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On June 6, 2023, when the Russian Army blew up the Kakhovka Dam, 15,000 people still lived in the town. The dam’s destruction caused catastrophic flooding downstream; more than 200 people in Oleshky drowned, and thousands more fled.

An estimated 1,700 to 2,000 people currently live in the frontline town.