Aid mission set to enter Ukraine's Oleshky as localised ceasefire holds for third day

Humanitarian aid is poised to roll into the stricken city of Oleshky, a Ukrainian official said Thursday, as a localised ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine stretched into a third day and military units cleared away landmines.

Moscow and Kyiv have observed the truce in and around the devastated southern Ukrainian city since Tuesday, but remain otherwise locked in the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion more than 4 ½ years ago. Previous efforts to secure ceasefires either never worked out or the truces quickly fell apart.

Elsewhere, a jet-powered Russian drone hit two passenger trains stopped at a station in Dnipro in central Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least 14 people and injuring 14 more, including a 40-year-old man whose legs were amputated, officials said.

Read moreAt least 13 killed in 'horrific' Russian drone strike at Ukraine train station

Also, a Russian cruise missile killed two 15-year-old girls in the northern city of Chernihiv, and three more civilians died when a Russian drone hit an apartment block in the central Ukraine city of Kremenchuk, authorities said. In all, 56 people were injured in the strikes, including 10 children.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defences downed 1,214 Ukrainian drones overnight in one of the largest drone attacks launched by Kyiv. Around half of the drones were heading to the Russian capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

The planned six-day ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky has brought a rare and welcome stillness for civilians in the nearby city of Kherson, which is held by Ukraine and has also been wracked by the war.

After years under fire, a rare quiet settles over Ukrainian city as truce holds

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Both sides thanked US first lady Melania Trump for what the White House said was her role in helping broker the temporary ceasefire so food and medical supplies can be delivered to some 2,000 desperate people trapped in Oleshky. Pope Leo XIV also pressed for a truce.

“The parties are fully adhering to the agreements, and no violations of the ceasefire have been reported,” Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Thursday, adding that aid deliveries were due to begin the following day.

His Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, confirmed the truce was holding and that Russian engineers are working on demining Oleshky's roads.

“Both sides are fully honoring their commitments, and no violations have been recorded,” she said. “This allows military personnel to continue clearing roads of mines and to prepare a safe passage for the humanitarian convoy.”

Local people will also be able to evacuate, either into Russia or Ukraine, officials say. The mechanics of how that might work are unclear.

Lantratova said she and her team were on their way to Oleshky for the aid delivery, adding that the operation was five months in the making.

Russian and Ukrainian representatives met in the Belarus city of Homel on Thursday to fly together to the Kherson region, Belarus state media reported.

A volunteer from Oleshky, Ksenia Arkhipova, told The Associated Press roughly 1,000 residents have told her they want to leave the city.

She said it was important that the Ukrainian delegation was present in Oleshky because many residents fear Russian authorities would identify individuals with pro-Ukrainian views or ties to Ukraine’s military.

In the nearby city of Kherson, growing numbers of people were out on the streets as the truce held.

Nataliia Myronenko, 42, had a steady stream of customers at her coffee kiosk since early Thursday.

“Now, during the quiet, we have people at lunchtime and in the evening, which we didn’t have under the attacks,” she said. “For a while, people would race down this street because they were afraid to stop.”

The pause has brought a sense of relief, she said. “It’s a breath of freedom, when you don’t look at the sky. You keep looking at your feet because of the mines, but you’re not afraid of dying. It’s so great,” she said.

“It’s such a privilege and a joy, but we understand it will end soon.”

Moscow and Kyiv are keen to curry favor with Washington ahead of possible three-way talks next month.

American military support is vital for Ukraine, but US President Donald Trump has waived sanctions on Russia and publicly chided Zelensky, indicating he is disengaging with Kyiv.

Tankers carrying Russian diesel are sailing to the United States, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to attend a G20 ministerial meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, starting Friday, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

European leaders, on the other hand, have been trying to diplomatically isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion and what they call a campaign of sabotage across the continent.

Ukraine earlier this month reported sudden and unexpected limits on Starshield, the military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX that is the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and communications.

Putin said Russia has been in contact with the American tech titan to coordinate their orbiting activities because it is building its own equivalent of Starlink.

“Elon Musk is a genius. Truly, a real genius,” Putin said late Wednesday.

“We and our American partners value this relationship, and despite all the political issues, we continue to work closely together,” he added.