Ceasefire Extended Across Kherson Region to Let Aid Reach Oleshky
A temporary halt to fighting, known as a ceasefire, that began early on Tuesday to let food and medicine reach the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky has been extended across the wider Kherson region, according to the BBC.
US First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV helped broker the truce, the BBC reported. Melania Trump said on Tuesday that the area covered by the ceasefire had grown beyond Oleshky, within the Kherson region, to provide safe passage for humanitarian convoys. Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, a deputy head of the Kherson regional administration, and the press secretary to Ukraine's public ombudsman, a state official who takes up citizens' rights complaints, corroborated the expansion.
Under the arrangement, the ceasefire is to be followed by aid deliveries to Oleshky and then by evacuations, which are planned for Friday for anyone who wishes to leave. An estimated 1,700 to 2,000 people remain in Oleshky itself, and a few thousand more are in surrounding areas. Tolokonnikov said Russian shelling had stopped in Ukrainian-held Kherson city and across the wider region.
Both sides said the ceasefire was being observed, and no breaches had been reported at the time of the BBC's report. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the ceasefire was proceeding according to plan. Ukrainian official David Arakhamia said the truce would continue until 22:59 Ukrainian time on Sunday 1 November, and described it as the largest de-escalation since 2022.
Oleshky had 24,000 residents before the war. Russia seized it in February 2022, during the first days of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The town has had no electricity, gas or water since the Kakhovka Dam was blown up in 2023.
The arrangement was first announced on Friday, 23 October, when Ukraine and Russia said they had agreed on a ceasefire in Oleshky to take effect on 27 October, according to Reuters. The same reports said the two countries agreed to hold peace talks next month. The Kremlin confirmed the ceasefire that day and said it was working with Ukraine on the timing of evacuations. Ukraine said its ceasefire was established exclusively for a humanitarian operation to deliver aid to residents in the town.
Russia had accused Ukraine of repeatedly striking Oleshky with artillery and drones ahead of the truce. For its part, Russia's defence ministry said units of its Dnepr group were carrying out engineering reconnaissance and clearing the main access roads of explosive and booby-trap devices.
