US first lady Melania Trump has secured a local ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the Russian-controlled city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine's Kherson region, the White House said on Friday, to allow humanitarian aid to enter and civilians to evacuate.

Source: Reuters, Oct 23, 2026

Both nations agreed to temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway, a White House statement said. Russia's chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, said on the Defence Ministry's Telegram channel that Russian troops would halt fire from 4 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) on Tuesday to allow for the humanitarian operation to start.

Source: Reuters, Oct 23, 2026

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's ombudsman and its chief negotiator in the talks, told the Associated Press that the local ceasefire with Russia would start on Tuesday and last several days, and would take effect across the Kherson region and neighbouring areas essential to delivering humanitarian aid. He said the mission would involve removing mines on the way to Oleshky before the delivery of food, medicine, hygiene supplies and other essentials, and the arranging of evacuations, and that the initiative could act as a model for future humanitarian missions.

Source: Associated Press via Bytes Europe, Oct 23, 2026

Ukraine's top negotiator David Arakhamia said on Telegram that the humanitarian operation would start once a ceasefire was in place, and that the accord, the result of a long process involving Melania Trump and Pope Leo, would set up a humanitarian corridor for residents to leave and allow assistance into the town.

Source: Reuters, Oct 23, 2026

Oleshky, which had a population of 24,000 people before the war, sits along the southeastern front and was captured by Russia on the first day of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. While most residents have fled, those who remain have faced dire food and medical shortages, and both sides have accused the other of staunching the flow of supplies. Melania Trump said the truce will allow the estimated 2,000 remaining residents who wish to be evacuated to be transported to their preferred destination in Russia or Ukraine.

Source: Associated Press via Bytes Europe, Oct 23, 2026

In Moscow, the Kremlin welcomed the agreement, praised Melania Trump's role in securing it and said President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had discussed details. The Kremlin said earlier this week that work was under way to ease the humanitarian situation in Oleshky after Putin told the pope he was ready to cooperate on the issue. Russia's human rights ombudswoman, Yana Lantratova, said safe passage would be guaranteed for anyone who wants to leave the combat zone.

Source: Reuters; Associated Press via Bytes Europe, Oct 23, 2026

Melania Trump added that an impartial American media organisation will accompany Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground, without identifying the organisation, and said this will play a significant role in ensuring that the wishes of each family are faithfully respected. The first lady has previously worked to reunify children seized by Russia during the war. The local agreement is not a general ceasefire in the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Source: Associated Press via Bytes Europe; Reuters, Oct 23, 2026