Truce begins in Ukraine city where residents ate weeds to survive

What Happened

A limited ceasefire began in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in Kherson region to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuation on Friday. Russia's defence ministry said it stopped firing toward the Ukrainian city of Kherson across the Dnipro River at 04:00 Moscow time (01:00 GMT); Ukrainian parliament commissioner for human rights Dmytro Lubinets confirmed on Facebook that the Ukrainian side is honouring its commitments. The White House said the truce was secured by US First Lady Melania Trump. Oleshky, which had 24,000 residents before the war, is estimated by Ukraine to hold about 6,000 people including 200 children. Residents have had no electricity, gas or water for three years, and some have cooked garden weeds to survive; one woman told the BBC she is hospitalised after stepping on a land mine. The ceasefire is supposed to allow supplies to reach the city and roads to be cleared of mines for safe passage out, but details of evacuation registration remain unclear and communications from Oleshky are patchy. The BBC reports it is difficult to verify whether the ceasefire is being implemented because communication is patchy and residents fear reprisals from Russian forces. Last month the Kremlin acknowledged Oleshky faced a critical situation with food and medicine supplies but blamed Kyiv.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

Oleshky lies along the front line in Kherson region, trapped between the Dnipro River and Russian forces. The humanitarian ceasefire is a rare, narrowly scoped pause in a war where strikes continue elsewhere: Kyiv was hit on Monday evening, killing one and injuring 14, and a Ukrainian drone strike on Bryansk killed one and injured six. The truce's success or failure will test whether Moscow and Kyiv can honour localised humanitarian arrangements and may affect civilian trust and future negotiations, while highlighting the severe humanitarian toll in occupied areas cut off since February 2022.

Watch For

Monitor whether aid deliveries and civilian evacuations from Oleshky actually proceed on Friday, whether roads are cleared of mines, and whether the ceasefire holds beyond the initial humanitarian window. Watch for statements from the White House, Russia's defence ministry, and Ukrainian officials on implementation, any reports of shooting during evacuations, and whether residents are allowed to return to Ukraine or face phone checks and detention by Russian forces.