Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, said his delegation reached Russian-occupied Oleshky at about 11:30 a.m. Kyiv time Friday, with the ceasefire brokered by First Lady Melania Trump 80 hours old and “still holding,” the Kyiv Independent reported.
80 HOURS OF CEASEFIRE Russian and Ukrainian humanitarian teams are on the ground in Oleshky, delivering aid and preparing the convoy for civilian evacuation. These coordinated operations are proceeding in full accordance with the agreements established between Ukraine and Russia.
— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) October 30, 2026
Residents who want to leave had until 2 p.m. local time to do so, and aid distribution was set to begin after 2:30 p.m. A convoy of 25 buses with room for 750 passengers, plus ambulances, was assigned to the evacuation.
Self Reliance Central reported on Oct. 28 that Kyiv and Moscow had each named Mrs. Trump their go-between in writing and that the guns had gone quiet around the city. The mission she set up is now under way.
The route is cleared
Lubinets announced Thursday evening that demining of the agreed routes was complete and the convoy was ready to roll to Oleshky’s central hospital, according to Ukrinform. “We are conducting the humanitarian mission jointly with Yana Lantratova, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, with the mediation and coordination of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump,” he wrote.
The demining came at a cost. Lantratova said two people were killed during the operation around Oleshky, the Kyiv Postreported, and Kherson’s Ukrainian governor reported one person injured by a Russian mine on Thursday. Neither side has called either incident a ceasefire violation.
Lantratova also said the ceasefire was holding. Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed earlier in the week that its forces had stopped firing in the Kherson sector.
Who is leaving, and to where
About 2,000 people remain in Oleshky, including children, by Lubinets’ preliminary estimate, VOA reported. Residents may choose Russia or Ukrainian-held territory. Those choosing Ukraine are to go through medical checks, then travel through Belarus.
No official count of evacuees has been released. Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi posted that 527 residents planned to return to Ukrainian-controlled territory, then deleted the figure, saying no exact numbers were available yet.
One Ukrainian volunteer, Kseniia Arkhipova, claimed Russia broke the agreement by moving some residents out before the agreed Oct. 30 start. Russian state outlet TASS aired interviews with people it said left Oct. 29. Her claim has not been confirmed.
“Neutral observers”
Mrs. Trump wrote on X that the ceasefire “has expanded beyond Oleshky, within the Kherson Region, to provide safe passage for the humanitarian convoys,” VOA reported, and said a Newsmax TV crew would document the evacuation, “serving as neutral observers.”
Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev posted Friday, “Humanitarian approach and trilateral Russia-US-Ukraine coordination work.”
“If I had to go for the sake of one person, I would go again,” Lubinets said, according to Euromaidan Press. The ceasefire runs until 10:59 p.m. on Nov. 1.
The bottom line
On Oct. 28 the question was whether the First Lady’s deal would hold long enough to matter. As of Friday it has held for more than three days with no recorded violation, the routes have been cleared, and a Ukrainian delegation, working with its Russian counterpart, has reached a city that mined roads had cut off.
The final test is the count: how many of Oleshky’s roughly 2,000 people got food and medicine, and whether those who chose Ukraine made it there. Those numbers aren’t in yet, and the volunteer’s claim about early removals deserves an answer from Moscow.
On the results so far, Mrs. Trump has delivered something formal diplomacy had not: a working ceasefire, observed by both sides, built to get help to civilians. If the evacuation finishes as planned by Sunday night, it should become a model for other front-line towns.