Aid and safe passage could reach Oleshky under ceasefire Melania Trump claims she secured for single Ukrainian town
Ceasefire and evacuation plans
The White House said the ceasefire in Oleshky will begin next week. Melania Trump said Russia agreed to pause military action so humanitarian assistance can enter and civilians can be evacuated through a designated safe passageway.
Trump said she and her representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to set the agreement’s terms. She said civilian leaders from both countries would visit residents at home to assess their needs.
Residents face severe hardship
Trump described Oleshky as having limited electricity, mined roads and regular military attacks. She said aid deliveries and the evacuation of elderly residents would not have been possible without her intervention.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission said Oleshky was among frontline communities in Kherson facing food shortages and interruptions to aid. Residents said the town’s last grocery store stopped operating in January.
Other tensions over Russia and Ukraine
The report connects rising tensions to Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russia so Vladimir Putin could export diesel globally. Around the same time, Ukraine reported restrictions on its military-grade Starlink terminals.
On Thursday, Volodymyr Zelensky said full Starlink service had not yet been restored. Trump said Musk had ensured the service was running again; on Friday, Trump said he had not spoken with the X owner but would fix any Starlink issue in Ukraine.
Key points
- Russia has agreed to pause military action in Oleshky next week, according to the White House.
- The planned pause is intended to enable aid deliveries and civilian evacuation.
- Oleshky has faced food shortages, interrupted aid, mined roads and military attacks.
- Ukraine reported Starlink restrictions, while Trump and Zelensky gave differing accounts of service restoration.