Ceasefire halts shelling in Oleshky to allow aid and evacuations

Fighting paused on Tuesday near the Dnipro River, allowing a humanitarian operation to begin in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky. Both Moscow and Kyiv confirmed the start of this localized truce, which aims to deliver supplies and move civilians out of a frontline area facing severe shortages of food and medicine.

The Russian defense ministry announced on its Telegram channel that shelling toward the Ukrainian city of Kherson stopped at 4 a.m. Moscow time, or 0100 GMT. Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament commissioner for human rights, verified the timeline in a Facebook post. He stated that the Ukrainian side was honoring its commitments as head of the negotiating team.

Oleshky sits on the eastern bank of the Dnipro in Kherson region, directly across from the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson. Russian forces captured the town in the initial days of their invasion in February 2022 and have maintained control since. The White House noted last week that first lady Melania Trump assisted in securing this specific ceasefire agreement.

The pause in fighting offers a window for aid deliveries to reach residents who have struggled with acute resource gaps. The arrangement is designed to support both the transport of necessary goods and the evacuation of people from the contested zone. This localized measure allows for movement in a sector that has remained a hot spot for conflict since the war began.

Other parts of Ukraine continued to experience violence during the same period. A Russian missile strike on Kyiv on Monday left at least one person dead and 10 injured, including students in a dormitory. Similar attacks in Kharkiv and Pavlohrad also resulted in casualties. Witnesses reported new explosions in Kyiv on Tuesday morning, indicating that while Oleshky was quiet, the wider conflict remained active.