A ceasefire that first lady Melania Trump helped negotiate in a front-line Ukrainian city that she described as being on the “brink of disaster” went into effect Tuesday.
The pause in fighting in Oleshky started around 3 a.m. local time as “part of a humanitarian mission being carried out with the mediation and coordination of U.S. first lady Melania Trump, in cooperation with Yana Lantratova, Russia’s commissioner for human rights,” according to Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament commissioner for human rights.
“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,” Trump said in a statement last week. “Oleshky’s remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water.
“The people of Oleshky have limited electricity, live amid mined roads, and endure regular military attacks. It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible,” she added.
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The White House said both Ukraine and Russia “agreed to temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway.”
“Non-military, civilian leaders from both countries will work together to visit Oleshky residents in their homes and determine the level of assistance they require. Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destination. I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine,” Trump added.
Speaking on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” senior advisor Marc Beckman said the agreement followed weeks of mediation involving Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
On Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry wrote on Telegram, “In relation to the conduct of the humanitarian operation in the area of the settlement of Oleshky, Kherson region, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have ceased fire in the Kherson direction.”
Russian troops have held control of Oleshky since the early days of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to Reuters.
The news agency added that the city had a population of around 24,000 prior to the war, but that has since dwindled to only a few thousand.
Fresh strikes also hit a bridge and subway infrastructure in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Fox News Digital’s Madison Colombo contributed to this report.