Humanitarian deliveries are expected to begin Friday in Oleshky as a localized Russia-Ukraine ceasefire entered its third day and de-mining work continued.
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Humanitarian aid is set to move into the southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky on Friday as a localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine has held for a third day, Ukrainian officials said.
The truce has been observed in and around Oleshky since Tuesday, and Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Thursday that the ceasefire had been in place for 54 hours. He said aid deliveries were due to begin the following day and that “the parties are fully adhering to the agreements” with “no violations of the ceasefire” reported.
Russian officials also said the truce was holding. Lubinets’s Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, said Russian engineers were working on de-mining Oleshky roads and that commitments were being honoured. Lantratova said the work is intended to allow military personnel to clear mines and prepare a “safe passage for the humanitarian convoy.”
Both sides said local residents would be able to evacuate, either into Russia or Ukraine, although the details of how that would operate were not clear from the information provided.
The planned ceasefire around Oleshky is described as six days, and it has brought a pause for civilians in the nearby Ukrainian-held city of Kherson. In Kherson, a coffee kiosk owner, Nataliia Myronenko, said more people had been out during the truce, including at lunchtime and in the evening, because the drone danger had eased and she said people were no longer rushing for cover.
The truce’s holding was also linked to diplomatic efforts. The White House said U.S. first lady Melania Trump played a role in brokering the temporary ceasefire so food and medical supplies could reach about 2,000 people trapped in Oleshky, and Pope Leo XIV also pressed for a truce.
While fighting continued elsewhere, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a separate incident a “horrific attack” after a Russia-launched jet-powered drone hit two trains stopped at a station in Dnipro, killing at least 13 people and injuring 10, according to officials. Separately, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defences downed 1,214 Ukrainian drones overnight, with about half of the drones heading toward Moscow, according to Sergei Sobyanin.
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