Local ceasefire set for occupied Oleshky
Kyiv and Moscow say fighting pauses early Tuesday so aid can reach the Russian-occupied town and residents can leave. The US-brokered deal is untested.
Developing story. Details may change as more information is confirmed.
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a local ceasefire around Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in southern Ukraine's Kherson region, so humanitarian aid can be delivered and civilians can leave.
Human rights ombudspeople on both sides said the pause would begin at 3 a.m. Kyiv time on Tuesday, Oct. 27, which is 5 p.m. Pacific on Monday. The White House, which announced the agreement on Oct. 23, had initially given Oct. 29 as the start date, before Kyiv and Moscow settled on the earlier time.
The deal was brokered by the United States, with U.S. first lady Melania Trump leading the talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators. Pope Leo was also involved in the diplomacy.
Oleshky lies on the east bank of the Dnipro River and has been under Russian control since the early weeks of the 2022 invasion. The town has been badly damaged by years of fighting and by flooding, and residents have faced severe shortages of food and medicine. The United Nations human rights office estimates about 2,000 people are still living there; the White House put the figure at 1,700 to 2,000, many of them elderly.
The truce is untested. In the days before it was due to start, Russia accused Ukraine of shelling the town. Neither side, nor Washington, has said who will monitor the pause or given full details of how aid convoys and evacuations will work.
The agreement covers only Oleshky and the surrounding area, and is due to last until at least Saturday. Fighting elsewhere along the front line continues.
This summary is original reporting by tehworldnews, written after checking the facts against several major international news outlets and official statements.