Senior Ukrainian negotiator says local humanitarian ceasefire with Russia will start on Oct. 27

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine’s top negotiator involved in a humanitarian mission led by U.S. first lady Melania Trump told The Associated Press late Friday that a local ceasefire with Russia will start Oct. 27 — two days before the mission begins — and last several days.

Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. negotiators reached a deal Friday to provide humanitarian assistance in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, in the war-divided region of Kherson in southern Ukraine.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian ombudsman and his country’s chief negotiator in the talks, said the ceasefire would take effect across the Kherson region and neighboring areas essential to the operation. He added that the initiative could act as a model for future humanitarian missions.

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Associated Press writers Derek Gatopoulos and Susie Blann in Kyiv contributed.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back for updates. AP’s earlier story follows below.

First lady Melania Trump has brokered a coming ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the ravaged, Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid and the evacuation of civilians, the White House announced on Friday.

The localized ceasefire is set to begin Thursday, with the American first lady saying in a written statement that the situation there is “on the brink of disaster.”

The White House said Melania Trump had initiated discussions after learning about the situation during an event she held during the U.N. General Assembly session last month. It said she and a representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms of the ceasefire.

Ukraine’s lead negotiator for the agreement thanked Melania Trump for her involvement and said the deal would be tough to accomplish.

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, said the agreement calls for a ceasefire, followed by the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid. Lastly, civilians will be allowed to leave Oleshky, he said in a video message posted online.

“The operation will be carried out gradually and is extremely challenging to implement," Lubinets said.

Russia’s chief of the general staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, said Russian forces “will cease fire on the Kherson axis” starting at 4 a.m. Tuesday Moscow time “in connection with the humanitarian operation near Oleshky.” Russian forces will also carry out “engineering reconnaissance” and ensure “safe movement of the humanitarian convoy” into the city, Gerasimov said.

Russia’s human rights ombudswoman, Yana Lantratova, confirmed Friday that Melania Trump had brokered an agreement on “organizing a humanitarian mission” in Oleshky. Lantratova, who said she participated in negotiations, said providing such assistance is Russia's priority.

The first step will be to clarify what people need and organize the delivery of food, medicine, hygiene products and other essentials, Lantratova said in an online statement. Safe passage will be guaranteed for anyone who wants to leave the combat zone, she said, adding that it will require abiding by the ceasefire and creating safe conditions for humanitarian vehicles.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was grateful to the first lady and that Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump had recently discussed the effort.

Peskov said "those who want to leave it would be able to do so.” He would not say whether those who evacuate will be taken to Russia- or Ukraine-held territory. He also demurred when asked how long the evacuation will last, saying only it would most likely take several days.

Melania Trump has made helping children in conflict zones one of her signature issues in her husband's second term. She hosted a U.N. Security Council meeting on the issue earlier this year, and last year wrote Putin about efforts to reunite families with children who have been displaced by the war. She has helped reunite nearly three dozen children, according to her senior adviser, Marc Beckman.

“What she wants to do is save children, and that’s her focus,” the president said about his wife during a question-and-answer exchange with journalists at the White House.

Marc Beckman, senior adviser to the first lady, portrayed her work on the ceasefire as an extension of the effort she has been putting in to help reunite Russian and Ukrainian children with their families after they were separated by Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The development comes as tensions have increased to new highs between the Trump administration and Ukraine’s government. Kyiv has faced restrictions on the satellite internet system it relies on to knock down Russian attacks, with Trump and other top U.S. officials sending mixed messages about who was responsible for throttling the Elon Musk-made Starshield system.

Trump also recently waived new Russia sanctions, reached an agreement with Russia to import diesel fuel and pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make a deal to end the war that Russia began in February 2022. In renewed efforts to revive the peace process, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Norway this week for talks with Zelenskyy before meeting Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Zelenskyy did not mention the ceasefire in Oleshky during a remote appearance at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank. He did note that American Patriot missile interceptors were still on hold and Starshield and Starlink speed limits were still in place.

He also spoke of the importance of the United States to renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war, including a possible joint meeting with Trump and Putin.

Food and medical supplies have been scarce for months in Oleshky, which sits on the Dnipro River that separates Ukrainian forces from the city’s Russian occupiers. There is no electricity, heat or running water. Roads leading from town are mined and dotted with burned-out cars. Drones buzz overhead.

Once a city of about 24,000 residents, Oleshky was captured by Moscow’s forces on the first day of their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Its buildings were shelled and burned, and its infrastructure damaged. In June 2023, floodwaters inundated the city after the Kakhovka Dam collapsed from an explosion that an Associated Press investigation found was likely caused by the Russian military. Hundreds of residents were killed.

Those left in the city along Ukraine’s southeastern front face death from hunger or disease as another harsh winter looms. Ukraine has appealed repeatedly for a local ceasefire to organize evacuations. Russia, as the occupying power, is obligated by international law to ensure civilians under its control have what they need to survive.

Melania Trump said in the statement that civilian leaders from both countries will visit Oleshky residents to determine what level of assistance they require.

She said residents who want to leave will receive "coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destination,” adding that she anticipated that some will want to go to either country.

The first lady also said “an impartial American media organization" will accompany and document Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground throughout the process. The presence of journalists will help ensure everyone's wishes are “faithfully respected," she said.

The chosen news organization is Newsmax, a conservative outlet founded by Christopher Ruddy, a longtime friend of President Trump.

Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin and Darlene Superville in Washington, Volodymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - First lady Melania Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

In this undated image from video provided by the Ukrainian 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen" on Sept. 30, 2026, destroyed cars are seen on a highway from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region of Ukraine. (Ukrainian 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen" via AP)

In this undated image from video provided by the Ukrainian 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen" on Sept. 22, 2026, smoke rises from a residential neighborhood in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region of Ukraine. (Ukrainian 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen" via AP)

First lady Melania Trump speaks during an event about women's health, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A first tanker carrying Russian diesel to the United States under a new import agreement has set sail, the Kremlin said Friday, two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump said he struck a deal with President Vladimir Putin despite Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

“The first oil tanker has sailed off to customers, and regular supplies will continue,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said without elaborating.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said earlier this week that the first shipment would amount to 40,000 tons of diesel, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency. That's around 300,000 barrels, or about 7% of the roughly 4 million barrels of diesel the U.S. economy consumes in a single day.

The diesel deal was seen as an attempt by Trump to address high fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections.

It caused alarm and dismay in Ukraine, which has pleaded with foreign countries to tighten sanctions on Moscow and deny it revenue for the invasion launched in February 2022. In the U.S., the agreement was also criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for violating American laws and drawing the country closer to Russia. The deal joins a growing list of actions in which the Republican president has sided with Putin, often at Ukraine’s expense.

Marine intelligence firm Kpler said the vessel signaled that it was headed to New York to arrive Nov. 7 and would be the first Russian diesel delivery to the United States since July 2023.

The import agreement, which Trump says foresees millions more tons of Russian diesel reaching the U.S. in the coming months, is unlikely to make a dent in painfully high prices at the pump or elsewhere, energy policy experts say.

Russia’s diesel production has come under strain from repeated Ukrainian drone strikes on its oil refineries. The attacks caused fuel shortages, which now have eased. Trump last month asked Kyiv to stop the attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump’s deal “a weak decision by strong partners.”

The diesel agreement was a sudden policy reversal, coming just weeks after Trump signed into law a sweeping sanctions package that called for up to 100% tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas. He later put the measures on hold.

The development is the latest twist in the at times volatile relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy, which in recent weeks has sunk to a new low.

Zelenskyy said he spoke Friday with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, after they consulted with Putin in St. Petersburg. They also spoke with the Ukrainian leader earlier this week in Norway.

Kyiv is keen to add momentum to peace efforts in a planned three-way meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States that may take place next month at a venue to be decided, Zelenskyy said in comments via video link to the Hudson Institute research organization in Washington.

"We need diplomacy to move forward,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine's pressing issues are protecting its power grid from Russian attacks ahead of winter, getting more U.S.-made Patriot air-defense interceptors to counter Russia's ballistic missiles and finding more financial support from foreign countries, Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine is still experiencing Starlink and Starshield speed limits that are choking its drone operations, Zelenskyy said. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week that the satellite internet service would be fully restored within 72 hours, according to the Ukrainian leader.

Meanwhile, Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said Friday afternoon that all four Moscow airports — Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky — stopped flights arriving and departing for security reasons.

At Sheremetyevo airport, passengers were told to take shelter, Russian news agency Interfax reported. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that air defenses downed 21 Ukrainian drones targeting the Russian capital in the afternoon.

The airport restrictions were lifted three hours later.

In other developments, the White House announced that first lady Melania Trump brokered an upcoming ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the war-ravaged Ukrainian city of Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid and the evacuation of civilians.

The localized ceasefire is set to begin on Oct. 29, with the first lady saying in a news release that the situation there is “on the brink of disaster.”

Also Friday, Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war for the first time since August.

The Russian Defense Ministry said each side released 270 prisoners. Ukraine said 270 of its soldiers and civilians were freed, most of them held in captivity since 2022.

Elsewhere, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said a Russian embassy staff member has been declared persona non grata after a Russian drone violated the country's airspace and crashed near homes.

Police said a local resident discovered a drone in the village of Chistelnita in Telenesti District, less than 100 meters (330 feet) from a home. Specialists were sent to investigate. No one was reported hurt.

“Russia’s war keeps putting Moldovan lives at risk," Sandu wrote on X. "Today, a Russian Geran attack drone violated our airspace and fell near family homes and an energy facility.”

Stephen McGrath in Leamington Spa, England, contributed.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian Army General Volodymyr Lishavsky and actor Volodymyr Talashko attach shoulder straps to a young cadet during the initiation ceremony at a cadet lyceum in Kyiv, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Rescuers work on the roof of a damaged building following Russia's air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

People pass by a fragment of a Russian jet drone after a Russian air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Rescuers work on the roof of the damaged building following Russia's air attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

In this image taken from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian servicemen sit in a bus after returning from captivity during a POW exchange between Russia and Ukraine, in Belarus, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answers media questions before his meeting with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday Oct. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)