Russia and Ukraine have begun a local ceasefire in the occupied town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, both sides said Tuesday, but strikes continued elsewhere across Ukrainian and Russian territory, with several people being reported killed.
The ceasefire, which the Trump administration announced last week, should enable deliveries of humanitarian aid as well as evacuations from the frontline town as its residents grapple with acute shortages of food and medicine.
U.S. First Lady Melania Trump said later Tuesday that the ceasefire had been expanded beyond Oleshky within the wider Kherson region to allow safe passage for humanitarian convoys.
“Timing was accelerated two days ahead of schedule to protect the safety of civilians and to facilitate the delivery of critical humanitarian aid,” she said in a post on X. “The ceasefire’s geographic area has expanded beyond Oleshky, within the Kherson region, to provide safe passage for the humanitarian convoys.”
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s parliamentary commissioner for human rights and head of its negotiating team, confirmed in a Facebook post that Kyiv was observing the ceasefire.
On Telegram, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it stopped shelling in the area of Kherson as it prepared for the ceasefire around Oleshky, which is located nearby.
Despite the local ceasefire, Ukraine and Russia continued to trade strikes elsewhere overnight.
In western Russia’s Bryansk region, Ukrainian drone attacks killed two people and wounded at least six others, Governor Yegor Kovalchuk said Tuesday.
The first victim was killed when an explosive was dropped from a drone, Kovalchuk said. He later confirmed the death of a 67-year-old man in the same area.
Elsewhere, authorities in the Belgorod region said one woman was killed and seven people were injured over the past 24 hours.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted 222 Ukrainian drones across Russia and annexed Crimea between Monday night and Tuesday morning.
In Ukraine, a Russian missile attack on Kyiv killed at least one and wounded 15 others, including students in a dormitory. Overnight Russian attacks also killed and injured people in the cities of Kharkiv and Pavlohrad.
Meanwhile, in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region, Kremlin-installed authorities said one person was killed and 30 others were injured when a Ukrainian drone struck an inter-regional passenger bus.
Reuters contributed reporting.
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