Oleshky truce holds into a third day as Ukrainian and Russian ombudsmen head to the city; aid delivery planned for Friday
Ukraine's Dmytro Lubinets and Russia's Yana Lantratova said no ceasefire violations had been recorded around Russian-occupied Oleshky and that roads were being cleared of mines for an aid convoy. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the timing of the next three-way talks with the US would depend on the Middle East and that European countries would not be included.
The local ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region held into a third day on Thursday 29 October, officials from both countries said, and humanitarian aid was due to reach the city on Friday.
“The ceasefire has been in place for 54 hours now,” Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Thursday, adding that “no violations of the ceasefire have been reported”, the Associated Press reported. His Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, said both sides were “fully honoring their commitments” and that roads were being cleared of mines for the convoy.
Lantratova said aid including food, fuel, medicine and hygiene products had been sent and that residents would be able to leave “regardless of where they want to go”, Meduza reported. Lubinets said he had travelled to Belarus and would continue to Oleshky from there. About 2,000 people remain in the city, according to estimates cited by the AP and The Guardian.
Both sides have thanked US first lady Melania Trump for what the White House said was her role in brokering the truce, which runs until 1 November.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday that Moscow had not proposed a date for the next round of Russia-Ukraine-US talks and that the situation in the Middle East “just doesn’t allow us to hold it in the near future”, The Guardian reported. He also said European countries would not be included in the talks, Al Jazeera reported, while Finnish President Alexander Stubb said European countries would be involved. President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he hopes the talks will take place in Abu Dhabi from 6 to 10 November.
Background
Russia has occupied Oleshky, on the left bank of the Dnipro river, since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022. See also: Oleshky ceasefire begins and Zelensky on the Abu Dhabi talks.
Sources
- Aid mission set to enter Oleshky as a localized Russia-Ukraine truce holds for a third day · ABC News (Associated Press)
- Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova says humanitarian aid sent to occupied Oleshky · Meduza
- No ceasefire violations in Oleshky, humanitarian aid delivery planned for Friday – Lubinets · Ukrinform
- Ukraine war briefing: Oleshky truce holding and demining under way to enable humanitarian corridor, Kyiv says · The Guardian
- Kremlin says European countries not included in next Ukraine talks · Al Jazeera
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