A ceasefire has taken effect in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky, offering a potential lifeline to residents trapped without food, water and electricity for years, as a humanitarian operation is planned to deliver supplies and evacuate civilians.Ukraine's human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets confirmed that Kyiv was honouring the truce, while Russia's defence ministry said it had halted fire towards the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson across the Dnipro River.The White House has credited US First Lady Melania Trump with securing the ceasefire, which is intended to facilitate aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.Oleshky lies in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, which separates it from Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Russian forces seized the town during the opening days of Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The town had a pre-war population of around 24,000, but Ukraine estimates that about 6,000 people, including 200 children, remain in Oleshky and its surrounding areas.The humanitarian situation has deteriorated sharply, with shops closed and residents deprived of electricity, gas and running water for three years.
Attempts to deliver supplies have repeatedly failed, while mined roads and the threat of renewed fighting have made it dangerous for civilians to leave.With food running out, some residents have resorted to cooking weeds gathered from their gardens to survive. Others face shortages of medicine and inadequate access to medical care, leaving vulnerable residents particularly exposed as winter approaches."I don't believe in Russia's humanity," one resident told the BBC, expressing doubts about whether the ceasefire would hold long enough for civilians to escape safely.The planned evacuation also carries risks. Roads remain mined, communications are patchy and residents fear renewed shooting, reprisals or detention if their phones and online activity reveal support for Ukraine.One woman told the BBC she was recovering in hospital after undergoing two surgeries following a landmine explosion and was worried she would be unable to join the evacuation.The White House said civilian representatives from Russia and Ukraine would work together to visit residents and assess their needs.