Ceasefire in Kherson: How will the 2,000 residents trapped in Oleshky be evacuated?

A temporary ceasefire regime came into effect on October 27, 2026, around the city of Oleshky in the Kherson region, which remains under the control of Russian troops. This agreement, officially confirmed by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Russian Ministry of Defense, aims to provide urgent humanitarian aid to civilians trapped in severe siege conditions and to prepare for their safe evacuation.

The ceasefire began at 03:00 Kyiv time and 04:00 Moscow time.

US proposal and Melania Trump's mediation

Official Washington and the US First Lady played a crucial role in reaching this unique humanitarian agreement:

• Setting the dates: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the dates for the ceasefire (October 27) and the start of the humanitarian mission (October 29) were proposed by the US side;

• Melania Trump's diplomatic support: US First Lady Melania Trump and her team actively mediated in achieving the truce and coordinating the processes, a fact also confirmed by a special statement from the White House;

• Division of tasks: According to the terms of the truce, the Russian side is tasked with demining the designated routes, while Ukraine is responsible for taking measures to safely receive the city's residents.

Door-to-door assessment and evacuation mechanism

The process of providing assistance and relocating residents in dire conditions will be carried out as follows:

• Joint civilian groups: According to Melania Trump, civilian representatives from Ukraine and Russia will jointly enter homes in Oleshky to determine the real needs of the population;

• Freedom of choice: Those wishing to leave the city will be provided with transport support and the option to travel either to Ukrainian-controlled territories or toward the Russian side, according to their preference;

• International monitoring: To ensure the transparency and documentation of the processes, the groups will be accompanied by representatives of independent US media organizations.

The tragedy of 2,000 residents at the center of the disaster

Located on the left bank of the Dnipro, just 9 kilometers from the liberated city of Kherson, Oleshky has long been trapped in a vortex of siege and natural disasters:

• Sharp decline in population: In a city that had 24,000 residents before the war, approximately 1,700–2,000 people, including several dozen young children, are living in dire conditions today;

• Flooding and infrastructure collapse: Following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023, Oleshky was almost completely submerged, which crippled the supply of drinking water, electricity, and housing;

• Drone-delivered supplies and minefields: Because the outskirts of the city were fully mined, civilians were unable to leave, and the Ukrainian side had been dropping medicine and food via heavy drones in recent months.

Oleshky humanitarian operation in numbers