The ceasefire in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky, brokered by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, expired on Nov. 1, with all sides hailing the six-day pause as a success.
“The mission was a success, delivering critical aid to the region and enabling the evacuation of nearly 800 people,” the first lady said in a Nov. 1 post on X.
“On behalf of America, I commend Russia and Ukraine for their leadership and cooperation surrounding the Oleshky ceasefire.”
She said that she hoped the move “serves as a foundation for lasting peace between both nations.”
In a Nov. 1 post on X, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets praised the cessation of hostilities in the city as an “important step” in Moscow and Kyiv’s humanitarian efforts.
“Throughout this period, both sides honored their commitments. This made it possible to deliver humanitarian aid to Oleshky and help civilians who wished to leave the city safely,” he said, noting that he was now working with his counterpart in Moscow, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova, to “explore opportunities for further humanitarian initiatives.”
Lantratova also confirmed on Nov. 2 that no ceasefire violations occurred during the agreed timeframe and expressed her “deep gratitude” to the first lady for her role, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
The Ukrainian Military General Staff stated in a Nov. 1 post on X that 167 civilians had been evacuated by their units to safer areas of the Kherson region.
“Among them were 22 children and 21 mobility-impaired individuals who required special attention and assistance,” the General Staff stated, also noting that the evacuation took place “under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions,” including mined roads.
Lantratova said Russia provided a convoy of 25 buses with enough room to transport 750 people, according to TASS.
“Recognizing that there are people with limited mobility and bedridden people in the area who also expressed a desire to leave the combat zone, we prepared approximately 30 spaces for bedridden people and provided nine ambulances with a capacity of another 18 seats, should this be necessary,” she said, noting that more than 50 doctors and paramedics accompanied the convoy.
Lantratova also said she and Lubinets would remain in contact “to coordinate, with the First Lady’s mediation, to organize regular, monthly, at least monthly, similar missions to deliver humanitarian aid to Oleshky.”
Both the Kremlin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also praised the ceasefire, with Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov saying on Nov. 2 that Moscow highly appreciates “the level of coordination achieved between all parties” throughout the pause.
Zelenskyy praised the first lady in an interview on the “This Week on Capitol Hill” podcast, aired on Oct. 31, calling Melania Trump’s intervention the “first such case” in which Russia had agreed to a ceasefire.
“I hope it [the initiative] can continue. If it continues and such signals come from America again, it will be absolutely great, and we will support it,” he said.
Despite the ceasefire’s success, within hours of its expiration, both sides accused one another of using the break in fighting to strengthen their military positions.
Kyiv’s General Staff stated that while they operated under the terms of the agreement to ensure that it was safely implemented, Russia “by contrast, used the humanitarian pause to improve its positions.”
“During the ceasefire, the rotation of russian units, the fortification of positions, the expansion of anti-drone measures along roads and increased logistics activity, including the delivery of ammunition, were recorded,” the General Staff stated in a Nov. 2 post on X.
Asked to comment on this allegation during a conference call with reporters, Peskov, without denying the accusation, responded that Moscow could “assume with a high degree of certainty that the Ukrainian armed forces also used this period for appropriate regrouping and so on,” saying that such a move is “completely common practice in such situations.”
However, he said that such questions were better directed to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The Epoch Times contacted the ministry for comment but did not receive a response before publication time.
