First Lady Melania Trump Secures Humanitarian Ceasefire in Oleshky
A temporary ceasefire brokered by First Lady Melania Trump began in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid and evacuate civilians.
A humanitarian pause in fighting started early Tuesday in Oleshky, a town in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region that has been under Russian control since the early weeks of the invasion. The cease-fire, announced by the White House, was described as a temporary halt to all military action to enable aid deliveries and the evacuation of civilians through a designated safe passage.
Both Ukrainian and Russian forces confirmed the truce would begin at 3 a.m. local time (9 p.m. ET). No end time was given, and officials said the pause could last several days while Russian troops clear mined roads.
"The people of Oleshky have limited electricity, live amid mined roads, and endure regular military attacks," First Lady Melania Trump said, adding that without her intervention delivering aid and evacuating the elderly would have been impossible.
President Donald Trump has recently pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war. In an interview with Ukraine’s TSN TV channel, Zelenskyy said Russian forces would need to clear mines before residents could safely leave, and expressed skepticism about Russia’s intentions.
"There is no doubt that Russia will do everything it can to clear the roads of mines so that these people head toward Russia and stay there. They are not going to simply let people go," Zelenskyy said.
Civilian representatives from both sides will assess the town’s needs, and an independent American media organization will document the process. The town, which had about 24,000 residents before the conflict, now has an estimated 2,000 people remaining, many of whom rely on limited supplies and face severe shortages of food, medicine, and clean water.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission reported that no food deliveries have reached Oleshky since late May, and residents have been forced to scavenge for sustenance. International figures, including a Pope and a European Parliament vice president, have highlighted the crisis.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the ceasefire a potential model for future humanitarian arrangements, noting the "highly positive" involvement of the United States.