Arakhamia: Operation to Unblock Oleshky to Begin Soon

Davyd Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, said on October 23 that an operation to unblock the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, which is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe, will begin in the near future.

Arakhamia wrote on social media that the operation's goal is "to create permanent humanitarian corridors for the safe evacuation of civilians and the delivery of aid."

Ceasefire as a precondition

According to Arakhamia, a ceasefire will soon be reached to achieve this goal, as announced by US First Lady Melania Trump. "This was a long process involving many people at various political levels. We especially want to note the role of the Pope and First Lady of the United States Melania Trump. We express our sincere gratitude to them," he said.

He added that details of the operation, and information on how it unfolds, can be provided by Ukraine's ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets.

Earlier on Friday the White House published a statement saying Melania Trump had secured a truce between Russia and Ukraine in Oleshky, in the Kherson region, which is suffering a humanitarian disaster.

How the Oleshky issue reached this point

Pressure over the city has been building. On October 16, as we reported, Pope Leo XIV called Vladimir Putin and asked for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Oleshky. A few days later European Parliament Vice-President Pina Picierno began a hunger strike over the situation in the occupied city.

For more on the diplomacy around the war, see our Politics section.