UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher stated on Friday that a temporary ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky provides vital hope for trapped civilians, even as Russian drone strikes continue to hit humanitarian vehicles and civilian infrastructure across other regions of Ukraine.
Fletcher emphasized that residents seeking to evacuate Oleshky must be allowed to leave safely and voluntarily: “Let this pave the way for vital aid to get in, and more humanitarian access on both sides of the frontline.”
The localized truce, mediated by US First Lady Melania Trump and negotiated between Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets and Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova’s office, took effect last Tuesday and was scheduled to expire yesterday evening.
The UN was not directly involved in organizing the evacuation convoys, which required extensive demining operations and routed hundreds of elderly residents through Russia and Belarus into northern Ukraine. However, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed that UN humanitarian agencies are providing medical assistance, hot meals, and emergency supplies to evacuees arriving on Ukrainian-controlled territory.
The ceasefire addresses a severe humanitarian crisis in Oleshky, which is located on the Russian-controlled left bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region. Captured by Russian forces in February 2022 and heavily flooded after the June 2023 destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, the town saw its pre-war population of 24,000 drop to approximately 1,700 residents. People faced severe food and medical shortages after supply routes were cut off in May. In July, Human Rights Watch cautioned that civilians remained trapped in the Russian-occupied Kherson region without safe evacuation corridors.
Moreover, two humanitarian vehicles came under drone attack on Thursday. In the Zaporizhzhia region, a clearly marked social bus was struck, killing one and injuring passengers and the driver. This service provides critical transport for a community of over 1,600 people. In Sloviansk, an armoured evacuation vehicle was hit, injuring two evacuees.
UN representatives stressed that targeting civilians and critical infrastructure violates international humanitarian law. Under Article 21 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 8(2)(b)(iii) of the Rome Statute, intentionally directing attacks against civilian convoys, personnel, or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance mission constitutes a war crime.
The ceasefire ended on Sunday as planned with Moscow rejecting an offer from Kyiv to extend the pause. Russia reportedly resumed attacks on Ukraine’s Kherson region today. Dujarric warned, “All of these attacks are violations of international humanitarian law, and they must stop.”
