A ceasefire appeared to be holding on Tuesday around the Ukrainian town of Oleshky after more than four years of Russian occupation that have left trapped residents desperate for food, water and medicine.
The local truce, brokered by US first lady Melania Trump with the involvement of Pope Leo, is intended to allow aid into Oleshky and enable those who want to leave to do so. Some residents say they have survived on a cup of rice or buckwheat a day, sometimes with a tomato, cucumber or wild plants added.
Russia and Ukraine both said they were abiding by the local ceasefire, which went into force at 3 a.m. Ukrainian time (0100 GMT) as part of stuttering US efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and is due to last until Sunday.
The head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s ruling faction in parliament, David Arakhamia, called it the “biggest de-escalation since 2022”, while Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said it could be a confidence-building measure for future agreements.
Melania Trump said on X that the truce been expanded beyond the town itself, “to provide safe passage for the humanitarian convoys”.
