US-brokered truce begins in Russian-occupied Oleshky

Oleshky — A localised ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump came into force at 3:00 am local time (0100 GMT) on Tuesday in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, clearing the way for a humanitarian mission planned there later this week. Both Moscow and Kyiv confirmed in separate statements that the pause had begun.

The truce, Euronews reported, was announced last Friday and applies to a limited area. It is meant to let aid reach up to 2,000 people stranded in Oleshky with dwindling food and medicine, unable to leave because of explosive mines and drone attacks, according to the UN. The city's population has fallen from about 24,000 before Russia's 2022 invasion to around 2,000 today, including as many as 50 children, according to Ukrainian officials. AFP said it could not immediately verify whether fighting had actually decreased.

"In connection with preparations for a humanitarian operation in the area of Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, (Russian forces) have ceased fire in the Kherson sector and introduced a 'regime of silence'," Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Telegram, according to The Hindu.

Kyiv's human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, said Ukraine was "fulfilling its commitments", adding that "the sides are adhering to the agreements that we reached". What the arrangement still lacks is plumbing: neither Russia, Ukraine nor the United States has said who will monitor the truce, how long it will last, or given details of the aid operation. Newsmax, a right-wing US cable network, says it has been granted "exclusive television access" to accompany observers entering the city on Thursday.

Announcing the deal — a rare diplomatic turn for a first lady — Mrs Trump said civilian officials from both countries would visit residents in their homes to "determine the level of assistance they require". Those wishing to leave, she said, would receive transport to their preferred destination: "I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine."

The limits of the pause were visible within minutes. Shortly after 3 am, ballistic missile explosions shook Kyiv; Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said a strike damaged the Southern Bridge over the Dnipro, damaging metro infrastructure and suspending train services. Late on Monday a strike on a Kyiv university campus killed one person and injured 10, city officials said, while attacks in Kharkiv killed two and injured four. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote that "there is not a single military facility nearby" and that Russia was showing "nothing but a desire to kill and continue waging war".

The truce precedes three-way talks between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv expected to resume in November after a months-long hiatus, aimed at ending the war after more than 4½ years. The nearer test comes on Thursday, when observers are due to enter Oleshky — with or without exclusive television access.