A ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky in Kherson Oblast took effect at 03:00 on 27 October Kyiv time, and both sides were complying with the agreements, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its forces had stopped firing on the Kherson axis at 04:00 Moscow time, at the same moment.

Russia has kept Oleshky cut off for months. In June, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine documented worsening shortages of food, medicine, and medical care there and in neighboring Hola Prystan. As of 8 October, Lubinets’ office still saw no practical breakthrough toward an organized evacuation, with 358 residents verified as needing help to leave. The ceasefire is the first step that has to hold before aid can go in and residents can leave, an operation Marc Beckman, the first lady’s chief adviser, expects to take five to seven days.

By 09:00 on 27 October, Russian forces were still observing the ceasefire, according to Pavlo Drohal, spokesperson for Ukraine’s 30th Marine Corps. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Presidential Office, announced that the mission had begun and that Lubinets had gone to the site to coordinate it.

Ceasefire planned for occupied Oleshky as residents face starvation and blocked escape routes, White House announces

Ceasefire brought forward by two days

The White House announced on 23 October that First Lady Melania Trump had secured a localized ceasefire, set to begin on 29 October. The same evening, Russia’s chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov announced a ceasefire on the Kherson axis from 27 October, with engineering reconnaissance and a secured route for a humanitarian convoy. Ukraine’s General Staff followed, introducing a ceasefire in a designated area from the same hour.

Beckman told Ukrinform on 26 October that Russia had moved the ceasefire two days earlier and extended it beyond Oleshky into Kherson Oblast. Lubinets said on 23 October that the mission should effectively begin on 29 October, after demining, adding that the date was not a matter of principle for either side.

A day after the announcement, Lubinets and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, who lead the two negotiating groups, confirmed the timing in an online meeting, he said. According to Lubinets, the agreement covers demining the road to Oleshky, delivering food, water, medicine, and hospital equipment, and safe movement for civilians.

Newsmax to document the operation

Meanwhile, Melania Trump said she had secured an “impartial American media organization” to accompany the Russian and Ukrainian teams. Beckman named it as Newsmax. He said he had worked directly with the channel’s owner, and that its journalists would record testimony as what he called neutral American observers.

Residents could leave for Ukraine or Russia, or stay, Beckman said. He added that Russia had assured Kyiv and Washington it would respect their choice of destination. Both governments asked him not to disclose what guarantees Russia gave or how violations would be handled, he said. He expects the operation to take five to seven days after 29 October, with an extension possible if both sides agree.

Diplomat doubts the truce will move peace talks

At the same time, Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, Ukraine’s ambassador to the EU in 2010–2015, told Radio NV the truce became possible only through the personal involvement of Donald and Melania Trump. The US president, he said, sees it as a way to show Americans he is bringing peace closer. He said he expects Russia to attempt provocations aimed at pushing residents toward the Russian side.

Yelisieiev said he does not share the optimism of those who think Oleshky could push the wider peace process forward. He compared it to the Black Sea grain corridor, a one-off arrangement that no longer works. He warned of a “diplomatic smokescreen”: Russia imitates negotiations while it keeps fighting, hoping Ukraine and its partners weaken over time.

A town under blockade

Oleshky lies on the left bank of the Dnipro, about 4 km from Kherson, and has been occupied since February 2022, Radio Svoboda reported. The White House says it had about 24,000 residents before the war and estimates 1,700 to 2,000 remain, mostly elderly, including about 50 children. Russian troops have also seized food dropped by Ukrainian drones, a local official said.

With the FIDE presidential election approaching in Samarkand, one of the candidates, Wadim Rosenstein (pictured), has become the subject of a formal appeal by a Ukrainian lawmaker. Oleg Dunda, a member of the Verkhovna Rada, is asking Ukrainian and German officials to examine whether Rosenstein and WR Group Holding may have violated sanctions rules.

The appeal was directed to Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and German Ambassador Boris Ruge. Dunda’s request goes beyond a general review: he wants the German side to consider a criminal investigation and has also asked for possible Ukrainian sanctions against Rosenstein.

At the center of the case described by Dunda are media investigations into LLC WR Rus. Ukrainian publications cited in the request say that Rosenstein controls the Russian company either directly or through his German business structure, WR Group. The company’s reported financial performance has expanded sharply. From 2023, revenue allegedly rose almost fifteenfold and reached €18 million, while net profit increased about three-and-a-half times to €1.8 million.

The same investigations pointed to the identity of some of the company’s customers. The reporting claimed that WR Rus worked with entities connected to Russian oligarchs already under sanctions. It also described a 2025 shipment of Italian footwear worth more than €500,000 that was allegedly imported for Anastasia Zadorina, identified as the daughter of Russian FSB Colonel General Mikhail Shekin.

Attention has also been drawn to a separate company belonging to Rosenstein’s brother Mikhail. His logistics firm, LLC 2R Integra, reportedly saw its revenue climb almost forty times after Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine began, reaching €21 million. The Ukrainian reports cited by Dunda alleged that the company continued sending industrial products to Russia through sanctions-avoidance channels, including dual-use goods from the Indian manufacturer Polycab.

The issue had already entered the chess world before Dunda’s intervention. Vladimir Kovalchuk, vice-president of the Ukrainian Chess Federation, previously called for similar measures. He argued that money generated through Russian business activity could contribute to the country’s broader wartime economy. Kovalchuk also said Rosenstein should consider ending his campaign voluntarily before the September 26 vote.

The Ukrainian Chess Federation has taken a prominent position on sanctions within international chess. The source states that it was among those pushing for sanctions against former FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich. After his inclusion on EU sanctions lists, Dvorkovich left the presidency.

More recently, the federation succeeded in excluding the Russian team from the World Chess Olympiad, which is scheduled for late September in Samarkand. FIDE’s presidential election is also expected to take place there.

Rosenstein is not the only candidate. The source identifies two other contenders: Timur Turlov, a businessman from Kazakhstan, and Jan Henric Buettner, a well-known German venture investor and multimillionaire. Yet the election may encounter logistical problems unrelated to the controversy. An official FIDE statement cited in the text says that some voting delegates have faced visa issues, raising uncertainty over whether the ballot can be held on schedule.