Ukraine and Russia confirm an agreement on a local ceasefire in Oleshky, where civilians face a severe food crisis. US mediation, involving First Lady Melania Trump, proved instrumental in securing the agreement. President Zelensky also confirms new trilateral talks with the United States and Russia in Abu Dhabi in November.
By Stefano Leszczynski
News of a truce in Oleshky, which could take effect next Tuesday, has come just a week after Pope Leo XIV appealed for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Ukrainian city.
During a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he was receiving treatment, the Pope highlighted the humanitarian situation in the city in the Kherson region. He stressed the urgent need for a truce to allow food and medical aid to reach civilians and enable their safe and voluntary evacuation.
On Monday, the Pope also spoke by telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That conversation likewise focused on the situation in Oleshky and the need for a humanitarian truce.
Kyiv and Moscow confirm ceasefire
The Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, confirmed the truce, thanking US First Lady Melania Trump for her role in securing the ceasefire.
Describing the humanitarian mission as complex, he wrote on Telegram that “the operation will take place in stages”, stressing that Ukraine “has done and is doing everything possible to save the people in Oleshky”.
Russia’s armed forces will observe a ceasefire from the early hours of Tuesday, 27 October, to facilitate the humanitarian operation near Oleshky, towards Kherson, according to General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Defence Minister.
An earlier announcement had given Thursday, 29 October, as the start date.
Melania Trump’s role in mediation
Just hours before General Gerasimov’s announcement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the agreement on a truce in Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and the evacuation of civilians.
The White House had first announced the agreement, giving 29 October as the date on which the ceasefire would begin.
Kyiv agrees to Abu Dhabi talks
President Zelensky has confirmed that delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the United States will meet in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, in the first half of November.
The new round of trilateral talks, to be held at working-group level, marks a further effort to resume direct dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv, with Washington’s mediation, and bring an end to hostilities.
The Ukrainian President’s announcement followed talks earlier in the day with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who met with President Putin in recent days.
The Kremlin had already signalled that negotiations could resume, expressing its willingness to return to the negotiating table after 10 November.
Zelensky insists on security guarantees
The prospect of renewed diplomatic talks has not, however, changed Kyiv’s conditions for a possible peace agreement.
President Zelensky reiterated that any agreement must include robust international security guarantees to protect Ukraine against further Russian aggression.
He also stressed the need to secure at least ten years of funding to sustain Ukraine’s armed forces.
Security guarantees therefore remain a central issue in the negotiations, alongside territorial questions and arrangements for implementing any eventual ceasefire.