Local truce takes hold in occupied Oleshky as Russia strikes Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities

Russia's defence ministry and Ukrainian officials both said a local ceasefire around Oleshky, in the Kherson region, took effect early Tuesday. The town sits on the Russian-held bank of the Dnipro River and has been cut off from regular food, power and water, and the BBC reported that residents have described cooking garden weeds to survive. An aid mission is planned for later in the week, with an evacuation of civilians set for Friday, according to the BBC, and AP, via NPR, said the pause is due to last through Saturday or longer.

The White House said last week that Melania Trump had secured the truce, and her office said she led talks with civilian negotiators from both countries. Ukraine's human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, who heads the Ukrainian team, said Kyiv was honouring its commitments.

The truce did not extend beyond Oleshky. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched 16 ballistic missiles and more than 280 drones overnight, mainly at energy and logistics targets, and the Guardian reported at least 15 people injured in Kyiv. City officials said a missile strike on a Kyiv university late Monday killed one person and injured 10, AP reported.

Why it matters: The Oleshky operation is a rare agreed pause in the war and comes ahead of US-brokered talks expected next month, but the overnight strikes show fighting continuing across the rest of Ukraine.