Melania Trump announced the expansion in a post on X, saying General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, confirmed it to her. She did not specify which additional settlements or sections of the Kherson region were included. There is no independent confirmation of the new boundaries of the truce.
Sources for Radio Liberty in the White House and in the office of the Ukrainian ombudsman say the zone covers the entire Kherson region.
The start of the truce was moved two days earlier than the original date, from 29 to 27 October. According to Melania Trump, this was done to ensure the safety of civilians and to make it easier to deliver humanitarian aid.
The ceasefire took effect at 3:00 Kyiv time on 27 October. Its start was confirmed by Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights commissioner, and by the Russian Defense Ministry. The Russian Defense Ministry said fire in the Kherson direction had been halted from 4:00 on 27 October "in connection with preparations for a humanitarian operation in the area of the settlement of Oleshky."
According to David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People faction, the ceasefire will last until 22:59 on 1 November. Its purpose is the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of civilians.
The Financial Times writes that buses for the evacuation are to begin taking residents out of Oleshky on 29 October. Those who agree to leave will first be taken to occupied Crimea or Russia, from where they can return to territory controlled by Ukraine.
Dmytro Lubinets said a humanitarian mission is to begin on 29 October — delivering aid to Oleshky and unblocking the free movement of civilians who want to leave the city.
The White House first announced the agreement on 23 October, after which Moscow and Kyiv confirmed it. Along with Melania Trump, Pope Leo XIV took part in the negotiations on opening the humanitarian corridor, personally appealing to Vladimir Putin with a request to stop the fire.
Oleshky was occupied by Russia in the first days of the full-scale invasion, in February 2022. The city is located on the left bank of the Dnipro, four kilometers from Kherson, and since the start of the occupation has been without electricity and gas, and after the blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, without drinking water as well. The roads are mined.
Before the start of the full-scale invasion, about 24,000 people lived in Oleshky. According to estimates by Ukrainian authorities, about 2,000 residents remain there now, among them almost 50 children. According to the Kherson regional military administration, Russian forces are obstructing the delivery of aid and effectively depriving residents of the ability to leave the city. An attempt by international organizations to negotiate an evacuation with the Russian authorities has so far produced no results.