Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian military’s General Staff, said Russian forces would cease fire on the Kherson front starting at 4 a.m. on October 27 for a humanitarian operation in Oleshky (Alyoshki in Russian).
“To ensure people’s safety and deliver essential supplies, arrangements will be made to conduct engineering reconnaissance and provide safe passage for a humanitarian convoy into Alyoshki in the Kherson region,” Gerasimov said.
On the afternoon of October 23, the White House said Russia and Ukraine would temporarily halt hostilities in Oleshky, in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region, so residents could leave the city safely. U.S. first lady Melania Trump was involved in reaching the agreement. The ceasefire was scheduled to begin on October 29, the White House said.
Oleshky was occupied at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. By the fall of 2026, conditions there had become dire — residents had no food, electricity, or adequate medical care. Civilians cannot leave the city safely. Pope Leo XIV also appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the situation in Oleshky, calling in a phone call for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and the safe, voluntary evacuation of residents.
The humanitarian crisis in Oleshky
- ‘The smell of death is everywhere’: Inside the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Russian-occupied Oleshky, where hundreds are trapped without food, electricity, or medicine
- A humanitarian crisis is gripping Russian-occupied Oleshky as food deliveries stop and safe evacuation becomes nearly impossible
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