Russia’s Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov has announced a “quiet period” on the front in the Kherson region, due to begin on Tuesday, 27 October, at 4 a.m. Moscow time, to enable a humanitarian operation in the occupied town of Oleshky. This is reported by the Kyiv Post, citing the Russian news agency Interfax-Russia on Friday, 23 October. The date is two days before the date previously agreed in consultation with the White House.
“To ensure the safety of people and the delivery of socially important goods, engineering reconnaissance will be organised and the safe passage of a humanitarian convoy to the settlement of Oleshky in the Kherson region will be ensured,” Gerasimov said, according to Interfax-Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov initially gave no specific details on the duration of the operation; according to the state news agency TASS, he said it would “of course” last at least several days.
Ukraine has confirmed the agreement reached with White House mediation, but has so far not commented on the earlier start announced from Moscow. According to the Kyiv Post, neither Kyiv nor Washington has explained why Moscow names an earlier date.
An agreement in three stages – and an earlier date
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets, who had conducted the talks with his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, had previously confirmed that the truce was to begin on 29 October. According to the news outlet Ukrainska Pravda, he named three components of the agreement: “First, a quiet period will be ensured; second, humanitarian goods will be delivered to Oleshky; third, the free movement of civilians out of Oleshky will be ensured.” He gave no details on the duration of the individual stages, the scope of the aid deliveries or evacuation routes. Lubinets also asked the public and the media to be cautious about sharing information about the mission: “The whole world now knows about Oleshky.”
Davyd Arakhamia, faction leader of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party in the Verkhovna Rada, said the operation to open up Oleshky and the surrounding area would begin soon. He described the agreement as the result of a long process with many participants at various political levels, highlighting Pope Leo XIV and Melania Trump.
On Friday, the White House had announced that Ukraine and Russia had agreed on a temporary suspension of military activities in Oleshky to enable aid deliveries and prepare the evacuation of civilians – beginning on 29 October. How long the ceasefire would last and how many people were to be evacuated remained open. According to the statement from Washington, non-military representatives of Ukraine and Russia are to visit residents at home to assess their needs.
“The people of Oleshky have limited electricity, live between mined roads and are exposed to regular military attacks. It was completely clear that without my intervention there would be no possibility of bringing humanitarian aid into the city and evacuating the elderly,” said US First Lady Melania Trump.
Why the town has been without food for months
Oleshky lies in the south of the Kherson region on the left bank of the Dnipro, about five kilometres south-east of the city of Kherson, and has been occupied since the first days of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression in February 2022. According to the Kyiv Post, residents have not received food since 26 May; there is also a lack of drinking water and medicines. According to Tetiana Hasanenko, head of the Oleshky military town administration, the town’s only pharmacy has been without essential medicines for months, and medical care is severely restricted by power cuts and fuel shortages.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the situation in the words that families were starving and living on leftovers from gardens, canned food and even snails; residents reported that Russian soldiers had taken their food from them at gunpoint. Lubinets stated on 16 September that people were beginning to flee on foot across mined fields, under constant danger of Russian drone attacks. At the time he spoke of 176 appeals received regarding the humanitarian situation in Oleshky and at least 358 verified persons in urgent need of help to leave the town. On Monday, 19 October, according to the report, he confirmed daily contacts between Kyiv and Moscow about a possible evacuation and said: “I cannot give many details, but I want to say: from my point of view, we have made significant progress.” Neither of the two figures could be independently verified, also because the Russian occupation authorities severely restrict access to information from the area.
Pope Leo XIV had spoken with Putin by telephone on 16 October – according to the report, the two men’s second conversation after 4 June 2025 – and expressed his deep concern about the humanitarian situation in Oleshky. He urged the Russian president to agree to an immediate ceasefire and to allow the delivery of food and medical aid. The Kremlin supported the Vatican’s initiative but again blamed Ukraine for the crisis. On Monday, 19 October, the Pope spoke with Zelensky and reiterated his call for a humanitarian truce. “We are working to help our people there. We are preparing decisions,” Zelensky said, confirming the conversation.
In Ukrainian media, Moscow’s announcement meets with scepticism: in view of Russia’s repeated breaches of earlier ceasefires, including self-declared ones, concern about sabotage is being voiced, according to the Kyiv Post. For the people in Oleshky, until the announced date of 27 October it remains open whether the convoy will actually roll – so far only reconnaissance, safe passage and the Russian assurance that the operation would last “at least several days” have been promised.
