US First Lady Melania Trump has secured an agreement between Russia and Ukraine to temporarily halt military operations in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, the White House announced on Friday. The intent is to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and evacuate civilians trapped near the front line.
The localised ceasefire is scheduled to begin on 29 October, with both sides agreeing to suspend military action in the southern Ukrainian city and establish a designated safe passage for residents wishing to leave, according to the White House.
Oleshky lies on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro River, opposite the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson. Before Russia's full-scale invasion, it had approximately 24,000 residents. According to White House estimates, only 1,700 to 2,000 remain, including around 50 children.
The announcement comes amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in Oleshky, where residents face severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while attempts to escape have exposed civilians to mines and drone attacks.
Speaking exclusively to Euronews on 13 October, Tetiana Hasanenko, head of the Oleshky city military administration, described a city devastated by more than four years of Russian occupation.
"The city is practically destroyed," she said. "There is almost no building that has not been damaged."
Hasanenko estimated that around 2,000 people remained in Oleshky, including 35 children who, she said, were unable to leave.
She described residents surviving on a single meal a day, sometimes consisting of only a few spoonfuls of grain, while others had resorted to eating weeds.
Melania Trump's role in the agreement
According to the White House, the First Lady and her representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leaders to negotiate the terms of the humanitarian pause, including its timing, technical procedures and implementation.
Melania Trump initiated discussions with both sides, acting in what the White House described as the formal role of "Exclusive Intermediary".
"The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster," she said.
The First Lady described the remaining population as predominantly elderly residents in urgent need of medical attention and basic supplies, with limited electricity, mined roads and continuing military attacks complicating humanitarian access.
She argued that her intervention had been essential to securing the agreement and making aid deliveries and evacuations possible.
Under the proposed arrangements, civilian representatives from Ukraine and Russia will visit residents in their homes to assess their needs and coordinate assistance.
Those wishing to leave will be offered transportation to their preferred destination, with Melania Trump saying she expected some to choose Ukraine and others Russia.
The First Lady also said she had secured the participation of an impartial American media organisation to accompany and document the operation, although the White House did not identify the organisation.
The statement did not specify how long the ceasefire would last or provide detailed security guarantees for those involved in the humanitarian operation.
A 25-kilometre 'road of death'
Oleshky has been under Russian occupation since the first days of Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The city was further devastated by flooding following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in June 2023, which submerged large parts of the area and damaged already fragile infrastructure.
In her exclusive interview with Euronews, Hasanenko described how residents attempting to flee had been forced to walk approximately 25 kilometres towards the village of Radianske, crossing heavily mined territory exposed to drone attacks.
Many were already physically weakened by hunger, she said, while some who managed to escape subsequently returned with food for children and elderly relatives unable to make the journey themselves.
Hasanenko said people had been killed by mines along the route, with some bodies left unrecovered.
"This road really is a road of death," she said.
She also accused Russian forces of targeting food deliveries and punishing residents suspected of receiving assistance from Ukrainian troops.
Euronews has been unable to independently verify conditions inside Oleshky, which remains under Russian occupation and inaccessible to independent journalists.
A humanitarian operation in occupied territory
The White House said the initiative originated during a private discussion at Melania Trump's Fostering the Future Together event in New York, held during the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Both countries then assigned teams to coordinate the arrangements, including demining, according to the White House.
The agreement, if implemented, could provide a rare opportunity to reach civilians who have spent years largely cut off from regular humanitarian assistance.
But with Oleshky remaining under Russian military control, questions remain over how safe access will be guaranteed, how the suspension of hostilities will be monitored and whether residents will be able to leave freely for their chosen destinations.