Melania Trump-brokered ceasefire takes effect in Russian-occupied city ‘on brink of disaster’

A rare humanitarian ceasefire brokered by first lady Melania Trump to save people trapped in a Russian-occupied Ukrainian city took effect Tuesday morning.

After months of warnings from Ukrainian authorities of an impending humanitarian catastrophe in the frontline town of Oleshky in the In the southern Kherson region, the White House announced last week that the first lady had been granted a break in the fighting.

The agreement between Ukraine and Russia would “temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid to enter and prepare for an evacuation of civilians through a designated safe passage,” according to a statement released Friday.

The Ukrainian and Russian militaries confirmed the ceasefire would begin at 3 a.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) to ensure what they both called a “humanitarian operation.” Neither side has indicated when the temporary truce will end.

The ceasefire announcement comes amid renewed pressure from President Donald Trump on his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to reach an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has complained of gaps in intelligence sharing with the United States and a slowdown in Elon Musk’s Starlink service, crucial to its military.

Earlier this month, Trump also eased some sanctions against the Kremlin, allowing Russia to supply diesel on the global market in an apparent bid to drive down prices ahead of the midterm elections, undoing years of U.S. policy – ​​a move that alarmed Ukraine and Europe.

But in a rare intervention from the first lady, the White House statement quoted her as saying that Olechky was “on the brink of disaster” and that its remaining population, made up mostly of elderly residents, was in urgent need of medical care, medicine, food and clean water.

“Residents of Oleshky have little electricity, live among mined roads and regularly face military attacks,” she said. “It was quite clear that without my intervention it would be impossible to deliver humanitarian aid to the city and evacuate the elderly. »

Civilian representatives from both sides will visit the town, which had a population of about 24,000 before the war, to determine the level of assistance remaining residents need, the statement said.

An “impartial American media” will document the process to ensure “that the wishes of each family are faithfully respected,” he adds.

The ceasefire is expected to last several days because the Russian side must “clear the roads,” Zelenskyy said Sunday in an interview with Ukrainian TV channel TSN, adding that his forces should check that the area is clear.

“There’s no doubt that Russia will do everything in its power to clear the roads so that these people will head to Russia and stay there. They’re not just going to let people go,” he said.

Both camps blame each other for the crisis in Oleshky.

kyiv has accused Russian forces of exploiting nearby roads and using remaining residents as human shields to prevent the Ukrainian army from carrying out offensive operations in the city. Meanwhile, Russia accused Ukraine of “besieging the city” with drone strikes and preventing humanitarian aid from entering.

Last month, the Kremlin acknowledged problems supplying food and medical supplies to Oleshky, saying its military was working to resolve them.

Ukrainian media have for months been broadcasting interviews with people who managed to escape Olechky and spoke with relatives of those who remained there – about 2,000 people, including children.

Some said the city was on the brink of famine and residents were dependent on local produce to survive. Others reportedly started eating grass.

As winter approaches, fears of famine are growing in the city where communication is difficult due to severely compromised internet and cell phone service in the area.

The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, which has been documenting the crisis for months, said there had been no food deliveries to the city since late May.

Oleshky, like much of the Kherson region, has been occupied by Russian forces since the first weeks of the invasion.

Drone footage of the city, shared by Ukraine’s 34th Separate Marine Brigade “Borysfen” last month and verified by NBC News, shows the charred ruins of desolate residential and administrative buildings inside the city, in a rare glimpse of the level of destruction.

Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets shared another video earlier this month, geotagged by NBC News, showing residents leaving Oleshky on foot, bicycles and mopeds in what he said was a desperate search for food. He said they faced an impossible choice: explode on a mine or starve.

Their plight has gained international attention in recent weeks after Pope Leo

Although Kyiv and Moscow have previously unilaterally announced ceasefires over Easter or Christmas, they did not revolve around a humanitarian crisis and did not involve open mediation by the United States, making Oleshky’s ceasefire an unprecedented ceasefire between the two sides.

The ceasefire could serve as a model for similar humanitarian arrangements in other regions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, particularly given the “highly positive” involvement of the United States, including the first lady.

Melania Trump was involved in the humanitarian campaign to bring back Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia, and the White House statement said she took advantage of the “channel of communication” established through those efforts to achieve a humanitarian ceasefire in Oleshky.