White House: Melania Trump secured local ceasefire in Oleshky for civilian evacuation

The White House confirmed an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to establish a local ceasefire in the occupied Oleshky town in Kherson region. The deal, which is set to take effect on 29 October 2026, will create conditions for delivering humanitarian aid and organising the safe evacuation of civilians.

As stated in an official statement by the US administration released on 23 October, US First Lady Melania Trump played a decisive role in the negotiations. She, together with her representative, maintained direct contacts with the leadership of both sides, coordinating objectives, technical details, timeframes, and the procedure for conducting the humanitarian operation.

Critical condition of city residents

Melania Trump emphasised the extremely difficult situation faced by the residents of Oleshky. According to her, the city, which is located on the front line, is home primarily to elderly people. They urgently need medicines, medical care, food, and drinking water.

«Ситуація в Олешках є катастрофічною. Олешки – це місто на лінії фронту, яке перебуває на межі катастрофи» (The situation in Oleshky is catastrophic. Oleshky is a city on the front line that is on the brink of disaster), the US First Lady stressed.

She also underlined that without her direct involvement, ensuring the delivery of aid to the city and organising the evacuation of elderly residents would have been impossible.

Evacuation mechanism and escort

Under the adopted plan, representatives of civilian structures from Ukraine and Russia will jointly visit Oleshky residents at their places of residence. Their task will be to determine the individual needs of each person and the required level of support.

For those who decide to leave, organised assistance and transport to their chosen destination are provided.

«Мешканці, які бажають евакуюватися, отримають скоординовану підтримку та транспорт до обраного ними місця призначення. Я передбачаю, що дехто захоче поїхати до Росії, а дехто – до України» (Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transport to their chosen destination. I anticipate that some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine), Melania Trump explained.

An independent American media organisation will also be involved in the humanitarian mission. Its representatives will accompany the Ukrainian and Russian groups directly on the ground and document the progress of the operation.

How negotiations began

The US First Lady said she learned about the critical situation in Oleshky during a private conversation at the "Building the Future Together" event in New York. This meeting took place within the framework of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

Following this, Melania Trump and her representative used communication channels with Ukraine and Russia that had previously been used to facilitate the reunification of children with their families. According to her, thanks to six previous such operations, 34 children were returned to their families.

After the First Lady's appeal, both countries formed teams to address organisational issues, including the de-mining of territories necessary for the humanitarian mission. Melania Trump noted that since the start of negotiations, all parties involved have been working around the clock to prepare the operation.

It is noted that the announced local ceasefire is set to take effect on 29 October. Currently, the discussion concerns agreed conditions for conducting a humanitarian operation, rather than an evacuation that has already taken place.

It was previously reported that Ukraine and Russia had come close to agreeing on conditions for evacuating the population from occupied Oleshky. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that the parties had discussed establishing a ceasefire to organise the safe departure of civilians to territory under Ukrainian control.