Add StudioX as a preferred source on GoogleA rare local ceasefire around the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky has held for more than two days. Ukrainian and Russian officials met in Belarus on Thursday to plan aid deliveries and the evacuation of trapped civilians.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said Thursday the truce had lasted 54 hours without a single violation. Ukraine’s Kherson regional administration reported no shelling and no civilian casualties over the previous day.
What comes next
Ukrainian and Russian delegations held their first face-to-face meeting in Homiel, Belarus, on Thursday. Humanitarian aid is scheduled to reach Oleshky on Friday. An evacuation flight is expected Saturday.
Under the agreement, residents who choose to leave will travel to the airport in Anapa, in southern Russia. A Russian military transport plane will then fly them to Homiel in Belarus. The deal does not spell out how evacuees then reach Ukrainian-controlled territory.
The ceasefire is set to end at 10:59 p.m. Kyiv time on Sunday, Nov. 1.
A town cut off
Oleshky sits on the east bank of the Dnipro River, across from the city of Kherson. It had about 24,000 residents before the full-scale invasion. The United Nations estimates up to 2,000 people remain.
Residents have reported severe shortages of food, medicine and basic supplies. The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, says no food or medicine has reached the town since May.
The UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, said civilians had been trapped “without a guaranteed safe exit route.”
Who brokered it
The White House announced the deal on Oct. 23 and credited U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, saying her team helped set its terms. She said the town was on the “brink of disaster.” She later said the ceasefire had been expanded within Kherson region. Lubinets’s office said it now covers the whole region.
The Vatican’s newspaper credited Pope Leo XIV, who raised Oleshky in calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier in October. Lubinets thanked Melania Trump’s team for coordinating the talks. The Kremlin said the truce could set a precedent for other local ceasefires.
Concerns about the route
Not everyone is reassured. The ISW warned that Russia could use the pause to rebuild its forces in Kherson region. It also questioned whether residents will have a “duress-free choice” to return to Ukraine.
Human rights groups have documented forced transfers of Ukrainian civilians through Russia since 2022. Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, has said relatively few residents want to leave. Both sides stress the truce is not a broader end to the war.
Why it matters in Canada
Canada is home to one of the world’s largest Ukrainian diaspora communities, and many families still have relatives in occupied areas. Whether this small, local truce delivers aid and safe passage is being watched as a possible test for wider humanitarian pauses. Ottawa had not commented on the Oleshky deal as of Thursday morning.
Sources: The White House, Al Jazeera, Kyiv Independent, Euromaidan Press, Euronews, United Nations, Institute for the Study of War
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving multilingual diaspora communities across Canada. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, NEPMCC, and the Canadian Freelance Union (Unifor). Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
