Officials in Washington, Kyiv and Moscow announced different start dates for a planned ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky, complicating the timing of aid deliveries and civilian evacuations in the Ukrainian city.
The White House said Friday that U.S. first lady Melania Trump had secured an agreement to suspend military action around Oleshky so aid could enter and civilian departures could be prepared. Its statement set the ceasefire for Oct. 29.
Ukraine's General Staff said its forces would observe a halt in a designated area at 3 a.m. Kyiv time Oct. 27. The equivalent time is 9 p.m. ET Monday, Oct. 26. Russia's Defense Ministry published Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov's statement that Russian forces would stop firing on the Kherson axis at 4 a.m. Moscow time that day, also 9 p.m. ET Oct. 26.
The statements describe different areas: Oleshky in the White House announcement, a designated area in Ukraine's statement and the Kherson axis in Russia's. They do not specify precise boundaries.
The Associated Press reported that Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the ceasefire would begin two days before the mission and last several days. AP also reported that mine removal would come before aid deliveries and evacuations.
The White House estimates that 1,700 to 2,000 people remain in Oleshky, including about 50 children, compared with roughly 24,000 residents before the war. It said no formal demographic count had been conducted there since 2022. The city is in the Kherson region, across the Dnipro River from Kherson; the White House said about 90% of its territory flooded after the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed.
The White House described residents' needs as including medicine, food and clean water, alongside limited electricity, mined roads and regular military attacks.
The first start time named by the Ukrainian and Russian military statements is 9 p.m. ET Monday, Oct. 26; the White House announcement gives Oct. 29. The next step is whether the pause takes effect and the humanitarian mission proceeds.
