Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a local ceasefire in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshki in the Kherson region. The ceasefire should allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid, demining of roads and the evacuation of civilians via designated safe routes.
The agreement was reached with the mediation of US First Lady Melania Trump. “Both countries agreed to temporarily cease all hostilities in Oleshki so that humanitarian aid can be delivered and evacuation of civilians can be prepared“, the White House announced.
There is a discrepancy in the publicly announced deadlines for the start of the ceasefire. According to Reuters, confirmed by Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Russian troops are to cease fire from 4:00 a.m. local time on October 27. The German media outlet “Deutsche Welle“, citing the White House statement, indicates October 29 as the date for the start of the local ceasefire.
The humanitarian operation begins with demining
Lubinets said that the roads to Oleshki must first be secured and demined. After that, it is expected that deliveries of food, medicine and other basic products, as well as the evacuation of civilians, will begin. "The operation will be carried out gradually and is extremely difficult to carry out," the Ukrainian ombudsman said.
Oleshki is located on the left bank of the Dnieper River, opposite Ukrainian-controlled Kherson. Before the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, the city had about 24,000 inhabitants. According to the White House, between 1,700 and 2,000 people remain in it, mostly elderly people.
The city lacks reliable electricity, heating and running water, and food and medical supplies are limited. The roads are mined and the area is subject to regular drone attacks. Melania Trump described Oleshki as a “frontline town on the brink of disaster“.
Negotiations in November
Against the backdrop of the agreed ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the United States are preparing technical meetings in the first half of November. Abu Dhabi is being discussed as a possible location, and a US representative has also mentioned Switzerland.
Zelensky said he hopes the technical talks will lead to a meeting of the leaders. According to him, any peace agreement must guarantee Ukraine's security and provide funding to maintain the Ukrainian army for the next 10 years. Kiev also insists on the participation of European countries in the diplomatic process.
The new attempt at negotiations comes after meetings between US special envoy Steve Witkoff with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Previous rounds of talks between the three countries have mainly resulted in prisoner exchanges, without significant progress on key political and territorial issues.
Separate from the Oleshki agreement, Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 270 prisoners of war each. According to Reuters, this is the first such exchange between the two countries since August.
Sources: reuters.com, apnews.com, dw.com