KYIV, October 24, 2026 (DAILYNWZ) — Russia and Ukraine have agreed to halt fighting in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations, while Kyiv says negotiators from both countries and the United States will meet next month to discuss ending the war.
The ceasefire is due to take effect at 4 a.m. local time on October 27, according to statements from both sides. The agreement, coordinated with the involvement of US First Lady Melania Trump, is intended to open humanitarian corridors into the town, where residents have reported worsening food shortages.
The White House said the two countries had agreed to temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow aid to enter and prepare a safe route for civilians to leave. Russian military chief Valery Gerasimov said Russian forces would halt fire at the same time. Ukraine’s General Staff also pledged to observe the ceasefire and do what it could to help residents.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, told Reuters that the operation would include clearing mines from roads leading to the town, delivering food and evacuating civilians. Ukraine has said it has already used drones twice to deliver food to Oleshky.
The town, in the Kherson region across the Dnipro River from Ukrainian-held Kherson, has been under Russian occupation since February 2022. The White House estimates that between 1,700 and 2,000 people remain there, down from about 24,000 before the war. Melania Trump described Oleshky as a front-line city facing disaster, saying most remaining residents were elderly and urgently needed medical care, medicine, food and clean water.
Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said technical-level talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States were planned for the first half of November in Abu Dhabi. A US official said the next meeting could take place in Abu Dhabi or Switzerland in the coming weeks. Zelenskiy said he hoped a leaders’ meeting would follow and stressed that any peace deal must include strong security guarantees for Ukraine and 10 years of funding to maintain its army. He also said Europe should be involved.
Previous US-led talks stalled in February without significant progress. Moscow continues to demand that Ukraine surrender all of the eastern Donbas region, including areas Russian forces have not captured. Kyiv rejects giving up territory it still controls.
The renewed diplomatic effort follows recent strains between Washington and Kyiv, including US restrictions on Ukraine’s use of SpaceX’s Starlink communications system. President Donald Trump said Friday he would address any continuing problem with the service and speak to Elon Musk if necessary. Ukrainian officials said speed restrictions remained in place.
Russia and Ukraine also exchanged 270 servicemen each on Friday, according to Russia’s Defence Ministry. Zelenskiy called the swap, the first since August, a “very important result.”
Ukraine’s acting prosecutor, Anton Kovalskyi, said more than 19,000 Ukrainian civilians, including 762 children, had been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than four years ago.