▲ Debris from a strike in Kyiv, Oct. 27
A local ceasefire mediated by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and others began on the 27th (local time) in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine's southern Kherson region.
However, as missile attacks continued around the capital Kyiv before and after the truce took effect, questions are being raised about whether the ceasefire agreement can be sustained.
According to reports by Reuters, AP, and other news agencies, the Russian Defense Ministry stated on Telegram that it halted bombardment toward Kherson across the Dnipro River starting at 4:00 a.m. Moscow time (3:00 a.m. Ukraine time) that day to prepare for humanitarian relief operations in Oleshky.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament's human rights commissioner and chief negotiator for the Ukrainian side, also confirmed the start of the ceasefire via Facebook at the same time.
While it was initially projected that the ceasefire would last until the 31st, Davyd Arakhamia, the chief peace negotiator for the Ukrainian side, announced via Telegram that "the ceasefire will remain in effect until 10:59 p.m. on November 1."
This means the ceasefire is set to end at 11:59 p.m. on the 1st of next month, based on Russian time.
The Russian side plans to send in medical staff, medicine, food, and drinking water to Oleshky later this week, followed by opening evacuation corridors.
Oleshky was captured by Russia on the first day of its full-scale invasion in 2022, and the town was submerged following a dam collapse in June 2023.
Before the war, 24,000 people resided there, but with the majority having evacuated, 1,700 to 2,000 people currently remain, reportedly consisting of elderly individuals and about 50 children.
According to the United Nations, they are currently isolated with depleted food and medical supplies.
They have been unable to leave due to landmines and drone attacks in the surrounding areas.
Previously, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a local ceasefire to allow the delivery of humanitarian relief goods into the city and to support the evacuation of civilians through designated safe corridors.
The White House stated that First Lady Melania Trump began consultations with both Russia and Ukraine under the official title of "Exclusive Intermediary," coordinating the goals, technical procedures, timing, process, and conditions of the ceasefire.
This relief operation was pursued ahead of U.S.-mediated peace talks scheduled for next month.
However, around 3:00 a.m., when the ceasefire went into effect, successive ballistic missile explosions were heard in Kyiv, and air raid sirens echoed across various parts of Ukraine, Reuters reported, citing multiple eyewitness accounts.
According to AFP, Kyiv city authorities stated that Russian attacks that day damaged a major bridge crossing the Dnipro River and subway infrastructure.
Train services passing through the affected bridge were reportedly suspended.
The Russian side also officially announced that it had targeted Kyiv's transportation infrastructure and a logistics hub in the Kharkiv region.
In a statement that day, the Russian Defense Ministry said, "Russian forces targeted Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises involved in the production of cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, transportation infrastructure in Kyiv, a logistics center in Kharkiv, and ships used for Ukraine's interests."
Earlier on the night of the 26th, a Russian ballistic missile struck a university campus in Kyiv, killing at least one person and injuring 15 others, including students in a dormitory.
Casualties were also reported in Kharkiv and Pavlohrad on the same day.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on social media immediately after the strike on the 26th, stating, "The world must know that Russia is only showing its intent to kill and continue the war."
Ukraine also continued its attacks targeting Russian mainland territory.
Authorities in Russia's western Bryansk region stated that a Ukrainian drone attack that day killed one person and injured six others.
In a Russian-occupied area of Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, a drone struck a bus, killing one person and injuring 30 others, according to local officials.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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