Russia and Ukraine agreed to ceasefire in occupied Oleshky, White House says

Moscow and Kyiv have agreed to a localised ceasefire in the occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky, where dire conditions and a severe food shortage have sparked an international outcry in recent months, the White House announced on Friday.

Under the agreement, which the White House says was brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, fighting will be suspended to allow humanitarian aid to reach the isolated city and enable a civilian evacuation.

Residents of Oleshky have been pleading for an evacuation for more than a year. The city is almost completely cut off from the outside world, with no electricity and dwindling food and medicine. Volunteers have reported deaths from starvation. About 2,000 people remain in the city, including nearly 50 children.

Russian authorities have blamed Ukraine for the crisis. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakarov attributed the occupied city’s supply problems to the proximity of Ukrainian positions and to artillery and drone strikes.

Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said earlier that Moscow and Kyiv were finalising the details of an evacuation of Oleshky’s residents, along with residents of six nearby settlements.

The European Commission and Pope Leo XIV have both called on Russia to allow humanitarian aid into Oleshky and to let residents evacuate.