KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Humanitarian aid is poised to roll into the stricken city of Oleshky, negotiators said Thursday, as a localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine stretched into a third day and military units cleared landmines.
Moscow and Kyiv have observed the truce in and around the devastated southern Ukrainian city since Tuesday, but remain otherwise locked in the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion more than 4 ½ years ago. Previous ceasefire talks either failed or the truces quickly fell apart.
“Demining of the designated routes has been completed, and the humanitarian convoy has been assembled and is ready,” ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, who heads Ukraine's negotiating team, said Thursday. He said aid deliveries were due to begin Friday.
Elsewhere, deadly attacks continued and Ukraine's central bank warned that damage to industrial targets could push the country into a recession.
A jet-powered Russian drone hit two passenger trains at a station in Dnipro in central Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least 14 people and injuring 14 more, including a 40-year-old man whose legs had to be amputated, officials said.
Also, a Russian cruise missile killed two 15-year-old girls in the northern city of Chernihiv, and three civilians died when a Russian drone hit an apartment block in Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, authorities said. Fifty-six people were injured in the strikes, including 10 children.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 1,214 Ukrainian drones overnight in one of the largest drone attacks launched by Kyiv. Around half of the drones were heading to the Russian capital, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
The planned six-day ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky has brought a rare and welcome stillness for civilians in the nearby city of Kherson, which is held by Ukraine and has also been wracked by the war.
Russian and Ukrainian officials head to Oleshky for aid delivery
Both sides thanked U.S. first lady Melania Trump for what the White House called her help in brokering the ceasefire so food and medical supplies can be delivered to about 2,000 people trapped in Oleshky. Pope Leo XIV also pressed for a truce.
“The parties are fully adhering to the agreements, and no violations of the ceasefire have been reported,” Lubinets said.
His Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, confirmed the truce was holding and that Russian engineers are working on demining Oleshky's roads.
“Both sides are fully honoring their commitments," she said, continuing. “This allows military personnel to continue clearing roads of mines and to prepare a safe passage for the humanitarian convoy.”
Belarus state media reported that Russian and Ukrainian representatives would fly together to Kherson from Homel in Belarus on Thursday.
Residents will be able to leave the city for Russia or Ukraine, officials said, although the mechanics of how that will work have not been provided.
A volunteer from Oleshky, Ksenia Arkhipova, told The Associated Press roughly 1,000 residents have told her they want to leave. She said it was important that the Ukrainian delegation be present in Oleshky because many residents fear Russian authorities would use the evacuation to identify individuals with pro-Ukrainian views or ties to Ukraine’s military.
Kherson residents venture outside as truce calms the danger of drones
In the nearby city of Kherson, growing numbers of people were out on the streets as the truce held.
A steady stream of customers visited Nataliia Myronenko's coffee kiosk since early Thursday.
“Now, during the quiet, we have people at lunchtime and in the evening, which we didn’t have under the attacks,” she said. “For a while, people would race down this street because they were afraid to stop.”
The pause has brought a sense of relief, she said. “It’s a breath of freedom, when you don’t look at the sky. You keep looking at your feet because of the mines, but you’re not afraid of dying. It’s so great,” she said.
“It’s such a privilege and a joy, but we understand it will end soon.”
Russian leader Putin voices his admiration of Musk
Moscow and Kyiv are keen to curry favor with Washington ahead of possible three-way talks next month.
U.S. military support is vital for Ukraine, but U.S. President Donald Trump has waived some sanctions on Russia and publicly chided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, indicating he is disengaging from Kyiv.
Tankers carrying Russian diesel are sailing to the United States, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to attend a G20 ministerial meeting in Atlanta starting Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
European leaders have meanwhile tried to diplomatically isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin due to the war and what they call a campaign of sabotage across the continent.
Ukraine has reported sudden and unexpected limits on Starshield, the military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX that is the backbone of Ukraine’s drone operations and communications.
Russia, which is building its own equivalent of Starlink, was in contact with Musk to coordinate orbiting activities, Putin said, referring to the American tech titan as “a real genius.”
“We and our American partners value this relationship, and despite all the political issues, we continue to work closely together,” he said.
Russian attacks hammer Ukraine's economy
Ukraine’s central bank chief expects the country to fall into recession this year because of high energy prices globally and intensifying Russian attacks on economic targets.
Central bank Governor Andriy Pyshnyy said the bank expects the economy to contract by 0.4% in 2026, a downward revision from the 1.8% growth for the year forecast in July. The annual inflation projection was revised to 12.5% from 10%.
He blamed the “inflation dynamics” on surging fuel prices due to war in the Middle East and intensified Russian attacks on logistical targets in Ukraine.
Business losses “were driven primarily by the consequences of the sea port blockade and Russia’s attacks on production facilities and logistics," he told reporters Thursday. "Metallurgical and ore mining enterprises suffered the greatest losses. At the same time, performance also deteriorated in other industrial sectors, trade, and agriculture.”
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Associated Press journalists Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia; Vasilisa Stepanenko in Kherson, Ukraine; and Susie Blann and Derek Gatopoulos in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
