Russia and Ukraine on Friday both confirmed the localized ceasefire for the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky that the White House credited to first lady Melania Trump. Each government acknowledged that the truce had been agreed, and later in the day Russia's top general put a date on his side's part of it.
Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, said Russian forces would cease fire on the Kherson axis and observe what he called a "regime of silence" from 4 a.m. Moscow time on Oct. 27 so the humanitarian operation could proceed, Interfax reported. That is two days before the Oct. 29 start the White House announced. Gerasimov said the military would carry out engineering reconnaissance and secure safe passage for a humanitarian convoy into the town.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the two militaries were working out the timing, that every civilian who wants to leave Oleshky will be allowed to go and that the evacuation itself should take at least several days. He said the first lady's part in the deal had come up in a recent phone call between President Vladimir Putin and President Trump, and he praised her by name. "We welcome the efforts of the First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Melania Trump, who has made a significant contribution to the coordination of the humanitarian operation," Peskov said, as quoted by The Moscow Times.
In Kyiv, Davyd Arakhamia, who leads President Volodymyr Zelensky's party in parliament, wrote on Telegram that an operation to unblock Oleshky and the surrounding area would begin soon, aimed at opening permanent humanitarian corridors for evacuations and aid. "We would particularly like to recognize the role of the Pope and U.S. First Lady Melania Trump," he wrote, adding that details would come from Dmytro Lubinets, the parliament's commissioner for human rights.
Lubinets confirmed the first lady's announcement himself, according to a report by the Ukrainian channel FREEDOM, and thanked her and her team for coordinating between the Ukrainian and Russian negotiating groups. He said he had led the talks for Ukraine, with Yana Lantratova representing Russia, and he described three steps: a halt to fire, deliveries of humanitarian cargo into the town and free movement for civilians who want to leave. He warned that the operation would move in stages and called it extremely difficult to carry out.
The White House has said that from Oct. 29, civilian leaders from both sides are to start visiting the roughly 2,000 people still living in Oleshky, most of them elderly, along with about 50 children who have been unable to leave, The Moscow Times reported. Ukraine estimates that about 6,000 people remain in the town and its surrounding area, including 200 children, according to the BBC.
The first lady has said residents who choose to leave will get transportation to the destination of their choice. "I anticipate some will want to go to Russia and some to Ukraine," she said in her statement, which also credited her intervention with getting both sides to assign teams to the technical terms, including clearing the heavily mined roads.
Oleshky lies across the Dnipro River from Ukrainian-held Kherson and has been occupied since the first weeks of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukrainian forces have been trying to retake it, and each side accuses the other of blocking supplies to the people who remain. Putin, who told Pope Leo in a call last Friday that he supported a Vatican initiative to get supplies into the town, also blamed Ukraine for the humanitarian crisis there.
Lubinets said Ukraine had done and was still doing everything it could to save the town's residents, and he promised to report on the mission's progress and results. The first lady's announcement described a ceasefire covering only Oleshky, Ukrinform noted. It comes as Trump presses Zelensky to reach a deal with Putin to end the war.