Melania Trump-Brokered Ceasefire Takes Hold Ahead of Aid Mission

A localized ceasefire brokered by first lady Melania Trump took effect early Tuesday in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky, and both sides said it was holding hours later.

The pause began at 3 a.m. local time, or 9 p.m. Eastern on Monday, NBC News reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday there had been no reports of violations so far.

David Arakhamia, who leads President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s party in parliament, called the truce “the most extensive to date” and the “biggest de-escalation since 2022.” He said it will stay in place until late Sunday.

“An important humanitarian mission has begun in Oleshky. A bilateral ceasefire has been declared in the area where the mission is taking place,” Kyrylo Budanov, head of Zelenskyy’s office, wrote on X.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces stopped firing toward the city of Kherson, across the Dnipro River from Oleshky, at 4 a.m. Moscow time in preparation for the humanitarian operation.

The White House said last week that the deal would “temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway.”

The first lady said Oleshky was “on the brink of disaster,” with a mostly elderly population in urgent need of medical attention, medicine, food and clean water.

Aid First, Then Evacuation

The truce is meant to let supplies in and allow roads to be cleared of mines ahead of an evacuation planned for Friday, the BBC reported. Residents have been trapped without food, water and electricity.

Up to 2,000 people remain in the town, where drones and land mines restrict movement, according to the Associated Press. Negotiators said doctors, medicine, food and water would arrive before evacuation corridors open.

Mark Beckman, the first lady’s chief adviser, told Ukrinform she took up the cause after hearing about residents’ plight at an event on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

The effort followed an appeal from Pope Leo XIV, who urged Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy this month to allow aid into the town and the safe evacuation of civilians.

Officials across the river remain wary. “It’s too early to say. Let’s wait and see, because you can’t trust the enemy, especially the Russians,” Kherson city administration head Yaroslav Shanko told the AP.

Moscow kept up attacks elsewhere. Minutes after the truce began, ballistic missiles struck Kyiv, killing one person on a university’s grounds, and Zelenskyy said Russia fired 16 ballistic missiles and more than 280 drones.

Separately, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a 90-minute call with Putin, their first known direct contact with him since shortly after the 2022 invasion.

The call came ahead of trilateral talks expected next month in Abu Dhabi, where delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States are to lay groundwork for detailed peace negotiations.

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