Ceasefire widened across Kherson region to aid trapped Oleshky residents

A ceasefire originally agreed to allow food and medicine into the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky has been extended across the broader southern Kherson region, according to officials.

Thousands of residents in Oleshky have been left without access to food, water or electricity, trapped between the Dnipro river on one side and Russian forces on the other, with surrounding roads considered too dangerous to use.

No violations of the truce, which began early on Tuesday, have been reported so far.

US First Lady Melania Trump, who helped negotiate the ceasefire together with Pope Leo XIV, said the agreement's coverage area had been broadened to allow safe movement for humanitarian convoys.

This was confirmed separately by the press secretary for Ukraine's public ombudsman and by Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, deputy head of the Kherson region, who both said Russian shelling had ceased in Kherson city, which remains under Ukrainian control, as well as across the wider region.

Under the terms of the arrangement, the ceasefire is expected to be followed by deliveries of humanitarian supplies to Oleshky, with evacuations for residents wishing to leave planned for Friday.