Oleshky truce holds and is extended across Ukraine's Kherson region
A local ceasefire to get aid into the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky took effect on Tuesday and has since been widened to the Kherson region, with no breaches reported, the BBC said.
A localised ceasefire took effect in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky at 01:00 GMT on Tuesday, October 27, to allow aid deliveries and the evacuation of civilians, according to Russia's Ministry of Defence, as reported by Al Jazeera. The truce was brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, with the involvement of Pope Leo XIV, Al Jazeera and the BBC reported.
On Tuesday the ceasefire was extended across the wider Kherson region, the BBC reported. Melania Trump said on X that the area covered "has expanded beyond Oleshky, within the Kherson region, to provide safe passage for the humanitarian convoys". Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, deputy head of Kherson, said Russian shelling had stopped in Kherson city and the wider region. No breaches had been reported, according to the BBC.
A town cut off
Up to 2,000 people remain in Oleshky, unable to leave because of mines and drone attacks, according to the United Nations. Matthias Schmale, the UN's resident and humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, told Al Jazeera that civilians were trapped "without a guaranteed safe exit route". The town, home to 24,000 people before the war, has had no electricity, gas or water since the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed in 2023, and residents told the BBC they had been cooking garden weeds to survive.
Under the deal, roads are to be cleared of mines so that supplies can reach the town, possibly on Thursday, with an evacuation planned for Friday for anyone who wants to leave, the BBC reported. David Arakhamia, a senior figure in President Volodymyr Zelensky's party, said the truce would last until 22:59 Ukrainian time on Sunday, November 1.
What both sides said
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said everything was proceeding "according to plan". Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that if the ceasefire produced results it could "pave the way for other steps in the peace process".
The truce began hours after Russian strikes on Kyiv, The Guardian and Al Jazeera reported.