Ceasefire Takes Hold in Kherson
A local truce around the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky began two days early and, by Ukrainian and U.S. accounts, widened across the Kherson region, while Russia kept firing missiles at other Ukrainian cities.
A local ceasefire around Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town on the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, took effect at 3 a.m. Kyiv time, or 9 p.m. Eastern the night before, two days earlier than the White House had announced. First lady Melania Trump, who the White House says brokered the deal, said the zone had been expanded beyond Oleshky within the Kherson region to give aid convoys safe passage, and that Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia's top military officer, had confirmed it. A spokesperson for Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said the truce now covers all of Kherson region; Russia has not described its scope in those terms. Lubinets said both sides were honoring it as of 5:30 p.m. Kyiv time and that it runs until 10:59 p.m. Kyiv time on November 1. The pause is meant to let mine-clearing crews open the roads, aid get in and residents get out. Ukrainian authorities say about 1,700 people remain in the town. Elsewhere, Russia fired 16 ballistic missiles and more than 280 drones at Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
How the truce began
Russia and Ukraine stopped firing around Oleshky at 3 a.m. Kyiv time, 4 a.m. in Moscow. Lubinets said on X that the ceasefire was in force, and Russia's Defense Ministry said on Telegram that it had stopped shelling in the direction of Oleshky at the same hour. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, called it a "bilateral ceasefire," the Kyiv Independent reported.
The deal was reached on October 23 by Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. negotiators, and the White House said Mrs. Trump had brokered it. The original start date was October 29. In a post that CNN and the Kyiv Independent reported, she said the timing was "accelerated two days ahead of schedule to protect the safety of civilians and to facilitate the delivery of critical humanitarian aid." The Associated Press noted she did not elaborate on what led to the change.
Lubinets described the truce as "part of a humanitarian mission being carried out with the mediation and coordination of US First Lady Melania Trump, in cooperation with Yana Lantratova, Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights," CNN reported. Lantratova heads the Russian negotiating team.
How far it reaches
Mrs. Trump said the ceasefire's area "has expanded beyond Oleshky, within the Kherson Region, to provide safe passage for the humanitarian convoys," and that Gerasimov, chief of Russia's General Staff, had confirmed the expansion. She did not say how far it extends. Tetiana Shelest, the ombudsman's spokesperson, told reporters it now covers the entire Kherson region, according to the Kyiv Independent, and Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, a deputy head of Kherson city, said Russian shelling had stopped in the city and the wider region, the BBC reported.
Moscow has not publicly put it that way. The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin told the leaders of Finland and Norway in a phone call that a temporary ceasefire had been introduced "in the Kherson sector of the frontline" to make the humanitarian operation possible. The AP said the truce's exact boundaries were unclear.
Davyd Arakhamia, a lawmaker who leads President Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party in parliament and is a lead peace negotiator, said the truce would last until 10:59 p.m. Kyiv time on Sunday, November 1, which is 3:59 p.m. Eastern. He called it "the largest de-escalation effort since 2022."
Whether it is holding
By evening Lubinets said no violations had been recorded by either side. Lantratova said the same, adding, "It is very important that the agreements reached continue to be observed," CNN reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the operation was going "according to plan," the BBC reported.
As of Tuesday night no aid convoy had been reported entering Oleshky. Russia's Defense Ministry said its troops were clearing the main access roads of explosives. Under the plan, aid is to arrive first, possibly on Thursday, October 29, and an evacuation for anyone who wants to leave is planned for Friday, October 30, according to the BBC. Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-installed head of the occupied part of the region, said housing for evacuees had been prepared in occupied areas, in Crimea and in Russian regions, and that residents could choose to stay in Russia or go to Ukrainian-held territory.
The people still there
About 24,000 people lived in Oleshky before the war. Ukrainian authorities say about 1,700 remain; other estimates run as high as 2,000, with a few thousand more in nearby villages. The town, across the river from the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson, has had no power, gas or running water since the Kakhovka dam was destroyed in 2023, the BBC reported, and mined roads and drone attacks have made leaving nearly impossible.
Some residents fear what comes next. Ksenia Arkhipova, a volunteer who fled Oleshky in 2022 and now helps others leave, told the AP that some people worry Russian officials will check their phones for ties to Ukraine. Zelenskyy has warned that routes Russia demines will lead evacuees toward Russia.
Across the river in Kherson, streets were busier than usual. "It's unusual when it's this quiet," Oleksandra Kostenko, who runs a coffee kiosk, told the AP. "It will end, and they will terrorize us."
Strikes elsewhere
Minutes after the truce began, ballistic missiles struck Kyiv. City officials said one person was killed and 12 were wounded on the grounds of a university, and authorities in Kharkiv said attacks late Monday killed two people. Russia's military said it had struck military facilities and transport infrastructure.