Melania Trump reportedly brokers ceasefire in town where 2,000 of 24,000 residents remain

The White House has announced that US first lady Melania Trump has achieved a local ceasefire in the town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine. The town is under Russian occupation and lies on the Dnipro river in the Kherson region, right on the front line. According to Washington, Russia and Ukraine agreed to temporarily halt all military activity there so that humanitarian aid could be delivered and civilians evacuated along a designated safe route. The ceasefire is due to take effect on 29 October.

Moscow and Kyiv have not yet confirmed the deal, according to 24ur.com and STA (the Slovenian Press Agency). But Dnevnik writes that the Kremlin also credited the first lady. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov reportedly said:

"We welcome the efforts of the First Lady of the United States, Mrs Melania Trump, who made an important contribution to coordinating this humanitarian operation." (translated)

What the White House says

The first lady and her representative reportedly coordinated the terms, technical procedures and timeframe directly with the Russian and Ukrainian sides. The White House describes Melania Trump as the sole mediator in these talks. The humanitarian operation is supposedly to be carried out by civilian organisations from both countries: they would visit residents at home and assess what they need. Anyone who wants to leave would reportedly be able to choose Russia or Ukraine. The process is to be monitored by "an impartial American media organisation", N1 reports.

In the statement, she wrote:

"It was clear that without my intervention, it would not have been possible to deliver humanitarian aid to the town and evacuate the elderly." (translated)

Of 24,000 residents, 2,000 remain

Before the war, more than 24,000 people lived in Oleshky. Today, according to the White House, between 1,700 and 2,000 remain, mostly elderly people who could not leave. Siol writes of about 50 children. The Russians took the town at the start of the invasion in February 2022, and in 2023 it was hit by severe flooding after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for blowing up the dam.

According to media reports, conditions are dire: limited or no electricity, and shortages of food, medicine and clean water. Svet24 writes that residents have been trapped in crossfire for months, while Dnevnik cites the Institute for the Study of War and says the dead cannot be buried. A few days ago, Pope Leo XIV also urged Putin to agree to a ceasefire in the town during a phone call.

What still needs checking

So far, the deal is known only from the White House statement and the praise from the Kremlin. The sources contain no Ukrainian confirmation, and the start is announced only for 29 October. Dnevnik points out that local ceasefires between the sides have so far been rare, and in those that did occur, each side accused the other of violations. Melania Trump has also been engaged for some time with humanitarian initiatives in this war, including the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia.