Humanitarian aid is scheduled to enter the occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky on Friday, a Ukrainian official announced, as a localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine extended into a third day. Military units have been working to clear landmines in the area.
Both Moscow and Kyiv have adhered to the truce in and around Oleshky since Tuesday, despite the broader conflict that began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine over four years ago. Previous ceasefire attempts had failed.
The planned six-day ceasefire in Oleshky has also brought a rare period of quiet for civilians in the nearby Ukrainian-held city of Kherson.
Both sides have credited U.S. first lady Melania Trump for her role in helping to broker the temporary ceasefire, which aims to allow food and medical supplies to reach approximately 2,000 people trapped in Oleshky. Pope Leo XIV also advocated for the truce.
"The ceasefire has been in place for 54 hours now," Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated Thursday, confirming that aid deliveries were expected to commence the following day. "The parties are fully adhering to the agreements, and no violations of the ceasefire have been reported."
His Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, corroborated that the truce was holding and indicated that Russian engineers were engaged in de-mining Oleshky's roads. "Both sides are fully honoring their commitments, and no violations have been recorded," she said. "This allows military personnel to continue clearing roads of mines and to prepare a safe passage for the humanitarian convoy."
Officials also indicated that local residents would be permitted to evacuate, with options to move into either Russia or Ukraine, though the specific logistics of these evacuations remained unclear.
Lantratova reported that she and her team were en route to Oleshky for the aid delivery, while Lubinets had arrived in Belarus and planned to proceed to the city from there. This operation, according to Lantratova, has been in development for five months.
In Kherson, the sustained ceasefire has led to more people venturing out onto the streets. Nataliia Myronenko, a 42-year-old coffee kiosk vendor, observed an increase in customers during lunchtime and evenings, a change from the previous environment of constant shelling.
"It's such a privilege and a joy, but we understand it will end soon," Myronenko said, describing the pause as a relief from the constant threat of death.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Ukraine, a separate incident saw a jet-powered Russian drone strike two trains at a station in central Ukraine, resulting in at least 13 fatalities and 10 injuries, according to officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the attack on passenger trains in Dnipro as "horrific."
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses intercepted 1,214 Ukrainian drones overnight, describing it as one of the largest drone assaults launched by Kyiv. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin noted that approximately half of these drones were directed toward the Russian capital.