Oleshky Aid Mission Set to Begin After Russia and Ukraine Finish Demining
Officials from both countries say the roads into the Russian-held town are now clear of mines. A convoy is ready to bring aid and help residents who want to leave.
KYIV, Oct 30- Russia and Ukraine said on Thursday that the work to clear mines from the roads around Oleshky has been completed, and that a mission to bring in aid and let residents leave the Russian-held town is ready to begin.
The two sides announced in almost identical statements from their human rights commissioners, Yana Lantratova of Russia and Dmytro Lubinets of Ukraine. “The humanitarian convoy is ready for departure,” the statements said.
The convoy is to head to the town’s central district hospital. Residents who wish to leave can do so until 2 p.m. local time, officials said, after which aid will be provided.
Efforts to set up the mission have been going on for several weeks. Oleshky sits on the southern bank of the Dnipro River, across from the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson. Russian forces took the town soon after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Before the war, about 24,000 people lived there. Around 1,500 are believed to remain, living among the ruins under regular shelling and with little food or medicine. One resident who escaped said, “Those left behind feared they would starve to death”.
Both sides have praised United States first lady Melania Trump for helping to broker the truce. Lubinets thanked her for giving her personal time and attention to the mission. Russian President Vladimir Putin also noted her support when he told a gathering of African nations in Moscow that aid would start reaching civilians on Thursday and Friday.
The ceasefire covers only Oleshky and the area around it. It took effect early on Tuesday and is due to last until Sunday. By midday on Thursday, neither side had reported any violations.
People who want to return to territory held by the Ukrainian government face a long trip. They’re expected to leave through Russian-controlled Crimea, cross into southern Russia and then fly to Belarus. From there, they’ll be able to cross the border into Ukraine.
For years, Kyiv has accused Moscow of refusing to let aid into the town or people out of it. Russia says Ukrainian mines on the roads into Oleshky and Ukrainian shelling are what have kept aid out and stopped residents from leaving safely.
Lantratova said she was bringing four journalists from the conservative American broadcaster Newsmax to the area. Lubinets didn’t name any specific reporters.
The mission is meant to ease a crisis in a town that has been cut off inside a war zone since 2022. But it’s also part of a wider effort by both countries to show United States President Donald Trump that they support his push for peace, though for different reasons.
Putin said on Thursday that Russia was working on issues related to a possible peaceful resolution of the conflict. Trump, meanwhile, has continued to praise Putin while portraying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as an obstacle to peace, deepening concerns in Kyiv about the direction of U.S. policy.
Any broader sense of relief was short-lived. A series of attacks struck Ukrainian cities this week, including a strike on the main train station in Dnipro, in the country’s southeast, which killed at least 14 people according to the latest reports. The attack underscored the continued danger facing civilians even as diplomatic efforts slowly move forward.
Russia, like Ukraine, denies deliberately targeting civilians. However, strikes on trains, stations, and other civilian infrastructure have become increasingly common as Ukraine’s stockpile of air defense missiles has dwindled. Civilian casualties have also been rising on the Russian side of the conflict.
Peace talks mediated by the United States are expected to resume next month in Abu Dhabi after a long pause. Despite the renewed diplomatic activity, the two sides remain deeply divided over how to end a war that has now lasted more than four and a half years.
Both sides recognize that Trump, who has two more years in office regardless of the outcome of next month’s midterm elections, holds significant influence over the outcome. Russia hopes Trump will pressure Kyiv into accepting a deal that meets many of Moscow’s core demands, including full Russian control of Ukraine’s Donbas region and a permanent ban on Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Kyiv, for its part, wants assurances that it will continue receiving intelligence support from the United States. It is also seeking full access to Starshield, a battlefield communications system operated by Elon Musk’s company that was recently disrupted, along with a steady supply of American weapons purchased by European countries, including Patriot air defense missiles.
