Melania Trump’s Ukraine ceasefire clings on as humanitarian aid arrives

A ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by Melania Trump, is holding on as humanitarian aid is expected to arrive into the city of Oleshky on Friday, according to a Ukrainian official. The First Lady’s ceasefire stretched into a third day as military units in the city cleared away landmines, as previous efforts to secure a stop to the warfare either never worked or rapidly fell apart.The White House issued a statement last week announcing Melania Trump had helped broker temporary peace in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, where residents have been enduring a dire humanitarian crisis due to a lack of food, electricity and other key resources. “The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster. Oleshky’s remaining population is comprised primarily or elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food and clean water,” the First Lady said in a statement. “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. Humanitarian aid is expected to arrive in Oleshky on Friday (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)Moscow and Kyiv have observed the truce in and around the devastated southern Ukrainian city since Tuesday, despite remaining locked in war since Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor more than 4 ½ years ago. The planned six-day ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky has also brought a rare and welcome stillness for civilians in the nearby city of Kherson, which is held by Ukraine and has also been wracked by the war.Elsewhere, Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 1,214 Ukrainian drones overnight in one of the largest drone attacks launched by Kyiv. Around half of the drones were heading to the Russian capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. Ukraine said Russia fired 112 drones at seven locations across the country.Pope Leo also pressed for a truce in the area (AFP/Getty)Both sides thanked U.S. first lady Melania Trump for what the White House said was her role in helping broker the temporary ceasefire so that food and medical supplies can reach some desperate 2,000 people trapped in Oleshky. Pope Leo XIV also pressed for a truce.“The ceasefire has been in place for 54 hours now,” Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Thursday, adding that aid deliveries were due to begin the following day. “The parties are fully adhering to the agreements, and no violations of the ceasefire have been reported.”His Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, confirmed the truce was holding and that Russian engineers are working on de-mining Oleshky roads.“Both sides are fully honoring their commitments, and no violations have been recorded,” she said. “This allows military personnel to continue clearing roads of mines and to prepare a safe passage for the humanitarian convoy.”Local people will also be able to evacuate, either into Russia or Ukraine, officials say. The mechanics of how that might work were unclear.