US First Lady Melania Trump announced on Friday she has secured a local ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the city of Oleshky, where residents face severe food shortages and remain trapped by fighting.

“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,” Melania, wife of President Donald Trump, said in a statement from her office.

“It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible,” she added.

The local ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky will start on 29 October, the statement said. Moscow and Kyiv have not confirmed the arrangement.

The announcement comes a year after Melania Trump revealed she had set up a back channel to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The former fashion model, who was born in Slovenia, has since helped reunite 34 children with their parents after the war separated them, her office said. Russia abducted some of these children.

President Trump has recently increased efforts to end Moscow’s war on Ukraine by moving closer to Putin and further from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Melania Trump said she worked with Russian and Ukrainian leaders on the Oleshky plan. Civilian leaders from both countries will “work together” and visit the damaged city to check what aid residents need.

“Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destination. I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine,” she said.

She added that an “impartial American media organisation” – which she did not name – would “accompany and document Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground throughout the process” to make sure teams respect residents’ wishes.

Oleshky sits on the southern bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region. Russian troops seized it in 2022. The population has dropped from about 24 000 before Russia invaded to around 2 000 today.

Former residents told AFP earlier this month that people there are caught in crossfire between Russia and Ukraine and face growing shortages of food and medication.

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