U.S.-brokered truce begins in Ukraine city

Kyiv (AFP) — A truce between Ukraine and Russia aimed at allowing humanitarian aid into the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky entered into force early Tuesday, after it was announced by US First Lady Melania Trump last week.

Both sides said they would observe the truce starting at 3 a.m. local time (0100 GMT).

Agence France-Presse (AFP) was not able to immediately verify whether there had been a decrease in fighting.

The war-ravaged city in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region has been caught in middle of the fighting since 2022, when it was seized by Russian forces at the start of their invasion.

Former residents told AFP earlier this year that those remaining in the city were starving, lacked medicine and could not easily leave.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that the truce was in effect.

“In connection with preparations for a humanitarian operation in the area of Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, (Russian forces) have ceased fire in the Kherson sector and introduced a ‘regime of silence,’” the ministry said on its Telegram channel.

Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said the country was “fulfilling its commitments” to the ceasefire.

“The sides are adhering to the agreements that we reached,” he said on Telegram.

Kyiv continued to be a target for Russian strikes. On Tuesday morning, the Ukrainian air force command issued nearly a dozen messages warning of ballistic missiles fired toward the capital.

Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said a strike hit the Southern Bridge — one of Kyiv’s main bridges — and damaged its metro infrastructure.

The ceasefire, which applies to a limited area, comes as the Ukraine war grinds through its fifth year.

Three-way peace talks between Washington, Moscow and Kyiv are set to resume in November after a months-long hiatus.

Neither Russia, Ukraine nor the United States have said who would monitor the truce or given details about the humanitarian operation set to accompany it.