Local ceasefire begins in Oleshky as deadly strikes persist across the region

Russia and Ukraine began a local ceasefire in the occupied southern town of Oleshky on Tuesday, both sides said, but strikes continued elsewhere across Ukrainian and Russian territory, with several people reported killed. The truce, announced by the Trump administration last week, should enable deliveries of humanitarian aid and evacuations from the front-line town, whose residents face acute shortages of food and medicine.

"As head of the Ukrainian negotiating team, I confirm that the Ukrainian side is honouring its commitments," said Dmytro Lubinets, the parliamentary commissioner for human rights, in a Facebook post confirming Russia's timing of its halt. On Telegram, Russia's defence ministry said it had stopped shelling in the area of Kherson as it prepared for the ceasefire around Oleshky, which lies nearby.

Despite the local pause, the two countries continued to exchange strikes elsewhere overnight. In western Russia's Bryansk region, Ukrainian drone attacks killed two people and wounded at least six others, according to the regional governor, Yegor Kovalchuk. The first victim was killed when an explosive was dropped from a drone, he said, later confirming the death of a 67-year-old man in the same area. Authorities in the Belgorod region said one woman was killed and seven people were injured over the past 24 hours. Russia's defence ministry said it intercepted 222 Ukrainian drones across Russia and annexed Crimea between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

In Ukraine, a Russian missile attack on Kyiv killed at least one person and wounded 15 others, including students in a dormitory. Overnight Russian attacks also killed and injured people in Kharkiv and Pavlohrad. Meanwhile, in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region, Kremlin-installed authorities said one person was killed and 30 others were injured when a Ukrainian drone struck an inter-regional passenger bus.

The limited truce offers a measure of relief to the civilians of Oleshky, who have endured Russia's brutal campaign without electricity, gas or water for three years and, in some cases, have resorted to cooking garden weeds to survive. Yet the wider war continues unabated, with Moscow's unprovoked assault on a sovereign neighbour claiming lives on both sides of the front line and Ukrainian cities enduring nightly bombardment. The World House, which maintains a dedicated page outlining its support for Ukraine at worldhouse.uk/support, continues to document the human cost of Russia's aggression.