Russia pauses Kherson strikes ahead of humanitarian mission to Oleshky

Russia has halted strikes on Ukraine’s Kherson province as a localised ceasefire begins ahead of a humanitarian mission led by US First Lady Melania Trump. The operation is intended to deliver essential supplies and enable evacuations from Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town facing acute shortages of food, medicine and other necessities.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the pause began at 01:00 GMT on Tuesday, October 27. The humanitarian mission is scheduled to enter Oleshky later this week. The ceasefire is expected to remain in place through Saturday, with the possibility that it could continue beyond that point.

Announced on October 23, the agreement was brokered by Melania Trump, with Pope Leo also involved. It comes as Washington seeks to restart peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv after more than four and a half years of fighting. The planned aid operation centres on a town along the front line in southern Kherson.

Negotiators involved in organising the mission said doctors would be brought into Oleshky, along with medicines, food and water. Under the sequence they described, those deliveries would take place before evacuation corridors open, allowing assistance to reach the town ahead of the planned departures of residents.

According to the United Nations, as many as 2,000 people remain in Oleshky. Explosive mines and drone attacks in the surrounding area have prevented them from leaving. Those still there face severe shortages of basic supplies in a town whose population before the war stood at 24,000.

Oleshky sits on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in the partially occupied Kherson region. Across the river is Kherson city, which remains under Ukrainian control. Russian forces captured Oleshky in the opening days of their February 2022 invasion and have held the town continuously since then.

The town has sustained extensive damage during the war. It was also badly affected by flooding following the destruction of the nearby Kakhovka Dam in 2023, adding to the damage suffered by the community during the conflict.

The temporary halt comes amid profound mistrust between Russia and Ukraine, which has undermined earlier efforts to establish ceasefires. This agreement provides for a local pause tied to the humanitarian mission, as preparations proceed to deliver supplies and open routes for evacuation.