Melania Trump-Brokered Oleshky Ceasefire Holds as Demining Efforts Progress

The ceasefire brokered by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump in the war-ravaged Ukrainian city of Oleshky continued to hold on Oct. 29, as both Moscow and Kyiv praised her for her efforts.The localized cessation of hostilities was announced by the first lady on Oct. 23 and took effect during the early hours of Oct. 27, persisting into its second day despite violence on both sides continuing elsewhere.The truce is set to be in effect until the night of Nov. 1, according to Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.The operation in Oleshky, located in the Kherson region of Ukraine, is aimed at relieving acute shortages in the town, which has sat on the front line of the battlefield since 2022.“Four American journalists from Newsmax will be on the ground in Oleshky, embedded with Russian and Ukrainian humanitarian leaders,” the first lady said in an Oct. 29 post on X.“Serving as neutral observers, they will independently record and permanently document this historic humanitarian mission,” she added in the post, which quotes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who said Russia “welcomes” the arrival of the Newsmax reporters.Lubinets personally thanked the first lady in an Oct. 28 post on X, in which he revealed that the truce had held for more than 30 hours.“I would like to express my special gratitude to First Lady of the United States Melania Trump, who is personally dedicating her time and attention to this humanitarian mission and to helping civilians in Oleshky,” he said, adding that her “direct involvement and coordination of efforts between the parties are an important part of this process.”Lubinets’s counterpart in Moscow, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova, further confirmed that the ceasefire had held into Oct. 29.“We see that the ceasefire is being fully observed. There have been no incidents during this period, and our servicemen are carrying out all necessary engineering and technical work, including demining the road,” she told the Zvezda TV channel, according to Russian state news agency TASS.Putin, speaking at a summit in Moscow on Oct. 29, also said relief supplies would begin reaching civilians on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30 “with the support of the First Lady of the United States.”Mine Clearance Operation UnderwayKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a demining operation was in progress in Oleshky, saying that it began on Oct. 29.“A mine clearance operation is underway there and we hope that today or tomorrow the residents will be able to receive the humanitarian aid freely and safely and those who wish to do so will be able to leave that town,” Peskov said.He added that Moscow considered such humanitarian efforts “extremely important” and that the fact that they are backed by the United States is “particularly valuable.”Lubinets also confirmed that demining efforts were “proceeding successfully,” in an Oct. 29 post on X, which also states that the truce had so far held for 54 hours with no violations by either side.The first lady has played a prominent humanitarian role during the conflict, notably trying to reunite children separated from their families.She has secured the return of 34 children to their families since she wrote a personal letter to Putin in August 2025.