First Lady Melania Trump brokered a temporary ceasefire in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations, the White House announced on Friday.
The White House set October 29 as the start date for the localized pause, saying Russia and Ukraine agreed to halt military action in the city and prepare a safe evacuation route.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the agreement but said Russian and Ukrainian military officials were still coordinating implementation dates. Peskov said the evacuation would likely take at least several days, Reuters reported.
Ukraine’s top negotiator, David Arakhamia, said on Telegram that a ceasefire and an operation to establish permanent humanitarian corridors for evacuations and food deliveries would come soon, according to Reuters.
“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,” Trump said in the White House release.
Her office described a community with limited electricity, mined roads and residents who urgently need medical care, medicine, food and clean water.
The White House estimated that 1,700 to 2,000 residents remain, primarily older people, along with approximately 50 children. It cautioned that no formal demographic count has taken place since 2022. About 24,000 people lived there before the war, according to the release.
Under the plan, civilian teams from both countries would visit residents at home, assess their needs, and arrange transportation for those seeking to leave, Trump said.
“Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destination. I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine,” she said in the release.
Trump said an American media organization would accompany the teams to document the process. The announcement did not identify the outlet or specify an end date for the ceasefire.
Her office said she and her representative negotiated directly with Russian and Ukrainian leaders, using communication channels from earlier child reunification efforts. As The Dallas Express previously reported, Trump has made reuniting children separated by the war part of her humanitarian work.
