Melania Trump's Ceasefire Opens Aid Route to Oleshky

The pause in fighting began at 3 a.m. Tuesday.

A localized ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia took effect to allow a humanitarian mission into the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky. The truce is scheduled to last through Saturday, though previous attempts have failed due to deep mistrust between the two nations.

Melania Trump led the negotiations for the pause. Her office stated that she met with U.N. officials to learn about the conditions in the town before speaking with civilian negotiators from both Russia and Ukraine. Both sides' militaries and negotiators confirmed in separate statements that the ceasefire had started.

Up to 2,000 people remain stranded in Oleshky. The United Nations reports that food and medicine stocks are dwindling. Residents cannot leave the town because of explosive mines and drone attacks in the area. Negotiators said the aid mission will deliver doctors, medicines, food, and water before evacuation corridors open.

The mission is part of a larger effort to end the war, which has continued for more than four and a half years. A new round of U.S.-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine is expected next month.

Missile attacks struck the capital shortly after the truce began. Minutes after 3 a.m., multiple ballistic missile explosions shook Kyiv. Air alerts sounded in several parts of the country. Late Monday, Russian ballistic missiles hit the grounds of a university in Kyiv, killing one person and injuring ten. In Kharkiv, attacks late Monday killed two people and injured four.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the strikes in an online post. He wrote, "It is important that the world sees that Russia is showing nothing but a desire to kill and continue waging war."