Russia and Ukraine Start Local Ceasefire in Oleshky as Strikes Go On Elsewhere

Russia and Ukraine began a regional ceasefire on Tuesday to allow a humanitarian effort in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, both sides said. Fighting continued elsewhere, including in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

The truce is intended to let aid be delivered and residents be evacuated from the front-line town in southern Ukraine, which is struggling with acute shortages of food and medicine. It is described as the first significant ceasefire of its kind in the war. Since Russia invaded in February 2022, pauses in fighting have mostly been limited to occasional holiday periods.

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's parliamentary commissioner for human rights, confirmed the start in a Facebook post. "As head of the Ukrainian negotiating team, I confirm that the Ukrainian side is honouring its commitments," he wrote. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Telegram that it stopped shelling in the direction of Kherson from 4 a.m. Moscow time to prepare for the effort in Oleshky.

Lubinets said the arrangement was reached in co-ordination with Melania Trump and in co-operation with Russia's human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova. Pope Leo is also known to have spoken to the presidents of Ukraine and Russia to press for a ceasefire in Oleshky.

Oleshky sits on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, opposite the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson. Russian troops took it in the first days of the invasion and have held it since. The town has suffered heavy war damage and was badly flooded after the 2023 destruction of the nearby Kakhovka Dam. The United States has said only a few thousand people remain, down from a prewar population of 24,000.

While the truce took hold, new strikes hit the Southern Bridge and subway infrastructure in Kyiv, forcing a suspension of traffic, city officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's overnight assault involved 16 ballistic missiles and more than 280 drones, calling it a serious escalation against Ukrainian logistics. He said there were casualties in the capital. Russia's Defence Ministry said it hit transport infrastructure in Kyiv, a logistics hub in the Kharkiv region, and industrial facilities and cargo vessels it said were used militarily.

On the Russian side, two men were killed and six people injured in Ukrainian drone attacks in Bryansk, according to regional governor Egor Kovalchuk. Local officials also said one person was killed and 30 injured when a drone hit a bus in the Russian-controlled part of Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters could not independently verify the reports, and both countries deny deliberately targeting civilians.

Diplomacy continued in parallel. White House envoys have spoken with both sides in recent days as the United States tries to mediate a peace deal, though questions have emerged about American loyalties after a diesel deal with Russia and critical remarks by President Donald Trump about Zelenskyy. On Friday, Zelenskyy said negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States agreed to meet at a technical level in Abu Dhabi in the first half of November.

Separately, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. Stubb's office called the discussion "frank and substantive" and quoted him as saying that ending the war "requires direct discussions." An aide to Zelenskyy confirmed he was briefed by both leaders afterward.