White House claims U.S. secured local ceasefire in Oleshky, Kherson region, starting Oct 29
“The situation in Oleshky is terrible. Oleshky is a frontline town on the brink of catastrophe. The remaining population of Oleshky consists mostly of elderly people who urgently need medical assistance, medicine, food, and clean water,” First Lady Melania Trump said. “Residents of Oleshky live under limited electricity, on mined roads, and are regularly subjected to military attacks. It was absolutely clear that without my intervention, humanitarian aid delivery and evacuation of the elderly would have been impossible.”
First Lady Melania Trump and her representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to determine the terms of a local ceasefire. In her official role as exclusive mediator, the First Lady initiated negotiations with both countries and coordinated agreement goals, technical procedures, timelines, processes, and conditions.
“Civilian leaders from both countries, who are not military personnel, will jointly visit residents of Oleshky in their homes and determine the level of assistance they need. Residents wishing to evacuate will receive coordinated support and organized transportation to their desired destination. I assume some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine,” First Lady Melania Trump said.
The First Lady continued: “I have also engaged an impartial American media organization to accompany and document the actions of Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground throughout the entire process. This will play a crucial role in ensuring that each family’s wishes are strictly respected.”
The extreme circumstances in Oleshky drew First Lady Melania Trump’s attention during a private conversation at the 'Building the Future Together' event in New York during the 81st UN General Assembly.
“We and my representative immediately activated the communication channel we established with Russia and Ukraine during the previous six reunions of 34 children. Both countries promptly dispatched teams to coordinate complex processes, including demining. From this moment, all parties are working around the clock,” First Lady Melania Trump explained.
About Oleshky
Oleshky is located in southern Ukraine, directly across the Dnipro River from Kherson. Before the war, about 24,000 people lived in Oleshky. Today, an estimated 1,700–2,000 residents remain, mostly elderly people who could not leave, along with about 50 children. No official population census has been conducted in Oleshky since 2022. Since the beginning of the war, the town has remained on the front line, with most of its population displaced or evacuated. After the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, about 90 percent of the town’s territory was flooded.