The humanitarian mission, announced by Melania Trump on October 23, involves civilian officials from both Russia and Ukraine visiting residents in their homes to assess the level of assistance required. “Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destination,” Trump said in a press release. The aid mission is expected to include doctors, medicines, food, and water before evacuation corridors are opened.

The city has been cut off by explosive mines and drone attacks, and residents have reportedly forgotten what bread is due to severe food shortages. The 2023 destruction of the Kakhovka Dam caused further devastation and flooding.

AFP was unable to immediately verify a decrease in fighting. Minutes after the ceasefire began, multiple ballistic missile explosions were reported in Kyiv. Ukraine’s military also reported missile launches toward the capital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attacks, stating, “It is important that the world sees that Russia is showing nothing but a desire to kill and continue waging war.”

Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, confirmed that Ukraine was fulfilling its commitments to the ceasefire. “The sides are adhering to the agreements that we reached,” he said on Telegram. Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, claimed that most residents who wished to leave had already done so “entirely of their own volition.”

Oleshky was captured by Russian forces on the first day of their full-scale invasion in February 2022. The city has since been a flashpoint in the war, with Ukrainian forces holding the opposite bank of the Dnipro River. The area has seen repeated attempts at ceasefires, but deep mistrust between the two sides has historically undermined such efforts.

The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the ceasefire would continue for the duration of the humanitarian operation, but no further details were provided.