1,700 to 2,000 residents remain in Oleshky as truce begins Oct. 29

The White House announced on Friday that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a temporary ceasefire in the occupied city of Oleshky, with operations set to begin on October 29. The administration credited First Lady Melania Trump with securing the agreement, which aims to allow humanitarian aid to reach a shrinking population and prepare for civilian evacuation.

Melania Trump described the situation in Oleshky as dire in a written statement, noting that the remaining residents are mostly elderly individuals who require medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water. The White House stated that the city, located across the Dnipro River from Kherson, currently holds between 1,700 and 2,000 residents, including approximately 50 children. This population represents a sharp decline from the pre-war figure of roughly 24,000. Officials also reported that about 90 percent of the city is flooded following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam.

Under the terms of the deal, non-military teams from both nations will visit residents in their homes to assist with transport arrangements for those wishing to leave for either Russia or Ukraine. Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia confirmed on Telegram that the humanitarian operation will commence once the ceasefire takes effect. He noted that the accord resulted from a long process involving both Melania Trump and Pope Leo, establishing a corridor for exit and inbound assistance.

The Kremlin indicated that the evacuation process will take at least several days. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone with Pope Leo last week, expressing readiness to cooperate on the issue. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov announced that Russian forces will cease firing from 4 a.m. local time on October 27 to support the operation. The Kremlin praised Trump’s role in easing conditions within the city.

Separate diplomatic talks are also scheduled. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States agreed to hold technical-level discussions in Abu Dhabi during the first half of November. Zelenskyy told the Hudson Institute that he had spoken with U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff following their meeting with Putin. He emphasized that any final peace deal would require strong security guarantees and ten years of funding for Ukraine’s army.

Fighting continued elsewhere in the region on Friday. Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport briefly suspended operations due to a Ukrainian drone threat, while Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that air defenses downed 21 drones targeted at the capital over a two-hour period. The two sides also exchanged 270 prisoners each. Ukraine’s acting prosecutor general, Anton Kovalskyi, stated that more than 19,000 Ukrainian civilians, including 762 children, have been killed since the full-scale invasion began.