Ceasefire brokered by Melania Trump brings rare quiet to Ukraine's Kherson, with aid due for 2,000 trapped in Oleshky
Devastation in Russian-occupied Oleshky, where a local ceasefire took effect at 3am to clear the way for an aid mission for the 6,000 people, including 200 children, trapped and desperately short of food and medicine.
Melania Trump's six-day localised ceasefire, signed in Belarus on October 23 by Russian and Ukrainian human rights commissioners, has given Kherson its first unbroken day of calm, with residents stepping outside for the first time in months. Aid convoys carrying food, medicine and water are reaching Oleshky, where up to 2,000 civilians have endured starvation and relentless bombardment since Russia seized the city when the invasion began in February 2022. Zelensky has disclosed that direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, to be led by the US in Abu Dhabi, could open as early as November 10, just days after the midterm elections.
Hanna Llianna, 61, made her first trip to Kherson city centre in nearly two years as the ceasefire's calm extended across the Dnipro River.
Despite 30 hours passing without incident, residents worry that Russia will redirect evacuees toward Russian-held territory rather than Ukrainian-controlled areas.
Trump officials are now considering lifting sanctions on Russia's Direct Investment Fund as part of broader economic concessions linked to the peace push.
