US-brokered truce begins in Oleshky

HISTORY REPEATS: Former Oleshky residents said that remaining people are starving, forced to hunt pigeons, with one saying: ‘They’ve forgotten what bread is’

A truce between Ukraine and Russia aimed at allowing humanitarian aid into the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky entered into force early yesterday, after it was announced by US first lady Melania Trump last week.

Both sides said they would observe the truce starting at 3am.

Agence France-Presse was not able to immediately verify whether there had been a decrease in fighting.

A rescuer calms a dog, injured during a Russian missile strike, while waiting for veterinary care, in Kyiv yesterday amid Russia’s invasion.

Photo: Reuters

The war-ravaged city in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region has been caught in middle of the fighting since 2022, when it was seized by Russian forces at the start of their invasion.

Former residents said earlier this year that those remaining in the city were starving, lacked medicine and could not easily leave.

The Russian Ministry of Defense yesterday said that the truce was in effect.

“In connection with preparations for a humanitarian operation in the area of Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, [Russian forces] have ceased fire in the Kherson sector and introduced a ‘regime of silence,’” the Russian ministry said on its Telegram channel.

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said the country was “fulfilling its commitments” to the ceasefire.

“The sides are adhering to the agreements that we reached,” he said on Telegram.

Kyiv continued to be a target for Russian strikes. Yesterday morning, the Ukrainian air force command issued nearly a dozen messages warning of ballistic missiles fired toward the capital.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said a strike hit the Southern Bridge — one of Kyiv’s main bridges — and damaged its metro infrastructure.

Three-way peace talks between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv are set to resume next month after a months-long hiatus.

Neither Russia, Ukraine nor the US have said who would monitor the truce or given details about the humanitarian operation set to accompany it.

Announcing on Friday that she had brokered the ceasefire, Melania Trump said civilian officials from Russia and Ukraine would visit residents in their homes and “determine the level of assistance they require.”

“Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destination. I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine,” she said.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine have said how long the truce would last.

The Russian defence ministry said on Friday that it would halt fire in the “Kherson sector” for the duration of the ceasefire, without giving details.

“To ensure the safety of the population and the delivery of essential humanitarian supplies ... the safe passage of a humanitarian convoy to the settlement of Oleshky, Kherson Region, will be facilitated,” it quoted Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov as saying.

Ukraine has accused Russia of blocking residents from leaving, a charge Moscow has denied.

The city, on the southern bank of the Dnipro River, was seized by Russian troops in 2022.

The population has since dropped to about 2,000 today from about 24,000 before Moscow’s invasion, including as many as 50 children, according to Ukrainian and US estimates.

Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova on Monday said that most of those who wished to depart had already done so — “entirely of their own volition.”

Former residents said earlier this year that remaining residents were starving, forced to hunt pigeons or subsist on whatever they had in their garden.

“They’ve forgotten what bread is. You need flour for bread, and there’s not even flour left,” said Olga, who was in touch with two families still in Oleshky.