KHERSON, Ukraine -- Russia and Ukraine began observing a localized ceasefire in a devastated southern Ukrainian city on Tuesday, ahead of a planned humanitarian mission the White House said was brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump. Moscow kept up its deadly missile attacks on other cities in the meantime. Meanwhile, Finland’s president and Norway’s prime minister spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, officials said, in their first known direct contact since shortly after Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022. Many western officials have accused Putin of masterminding a campaign of disruption across Europe and have sought to diplomatically isolate the Russian leader. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb later spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to Zelenskyy’s office. A ceasefire takes hold in a southern Ukraine city, officials say A local pause in fighting started at 3 a.m. to allow an aid mission into the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky this week. Food and medical supplies are running perilously low in Oleshky, where drones and land mines restrict movement for the up to 2,000 people still there. The humanitarian truce is a high-stakes operation for Moscow and Kyiv, with both sides keen to win U.S. President Donald Trump’s favour. Earlier attempts at limited ceasefires have quickly unraveled or never took hold due to the deep mistrust between Russia and Ukraine. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators and their militaries confirmed in separate statements that the Oleshky ceasefire had begun. Russia’s occupying forces impose strict limits on who can enter Oleshky. Ksenia Arkhipova, who fled the city in 2022 and now as a volunteer helps others leave, said some residents have told her they fear Russian officials may “filter out” evacuees with pro-Ukraine views. “People say they are genuinely afraid that the Russians will check their phones and look for evidence of Ukrainian relatives or ties to the Armed Forces of Ukraine -- something they have done repeatedly in other occupied territories,” Arkhipova, who lives in Ukraine, told The Associated Press by phone. Nordic leaders say Putin call was ‘frank and substantive’ The phone calls with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders followed an Oct. 20 meeting in Oslo between the two Nordic leaders, Zelenskyy and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. Stubb and Støre said they initiated the call with Putin, speaking with him for 90 minutes, to discuss the war and upcoming trilateral talks involving delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States that are expected to take place next month in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The talks will seek to lay the groundwork for detailed peace negotiations. The two European leaders spoke on behalf of their countries but not all of Europe, they said in statements. “The discussion was frank and substantive,” Stubb said. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was “very skeptical” of reaching out to Putin, saying she sees “no signs that Russia desires peace with Europe.” The Kremlin gave no hint that Moscow is ready to back down from its key demands, saying in a statement that “achieving a just and long-term peace is possible only if the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation are fully and unconditionally taken into account.” Zelenskyy said Russian attacks, including relentless strikes on Ukraine’s power grid, must stop in order to open a path to peace. “There must be peace, de-escalation is needed, and Russia must stop dragging out the war,” Zelenskyy said on X. Melania Trump and Pope Leo worked for a truce in Oleshky According to her office, Melania Trump led talks with civilian negotiators from Russia and Ukraine after meeting with UN officials who briefed her on the situation in Oleshky. The partly occupied Kherson region of Ukraine that includes Oleshky has been subject to repeated Russian drone attacks on soldiers and civilians. Pope Leo XIV spoke this month with Zelenskyy and Putin, urging them to allow humanitarian aid into Oleshky and the safe evacuation of civilians, the Vatican said. Negotiators involved in the aid mission said doctors, medicines, food supplies and water would be taken to Oleshky before evacuation corridors are opened. Moscow and Kyiv have blamed each other for the humanitarian crisis. Under international law, the occupying power -- Russia -- must ensure civilians under its occupation live safely. Ukraine has repeatedly tried to negotiate with Moscow to establish a humanitarian corridor for evacuations and aid delivery. Kherson residents take advantage of the lull in fighting The local ceasefire is due to continue until 22:59 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to Davyd Arakhamia, a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party. Its geographical scope was unclear, though it was centred on Oleshky and other nearby parts of the Kherson region. Oleshky is about 550 kilometres southeast of Kyiv, where the Dnipro River separates Russian and Ukrainian forces. Oleshky sits across the Dnipro River from the city of Kherson, the region’s administrative capital. Russian forces seized Kherson early in the full-scale invasion, but retreated across the river several months later. In Kherson, the city streets were busier than usual and long lines formed at bus stops as residents used the truce to run errands. “It’s unusual when it’s this quiet,” said Oleksandra Kostenko, who runs a small coffee kiosk. “We’re used to it being loud -- the buzzing, the booming.” But she fears Russia will use the lull to stockpile drones. “It will end, and they will terrorize us,” Kostenko said. Kherson bears the deep scars of war -- windows boarded up, anti-drone nets stretched over streets and shattered glass littering sidewalks. Yuliia Orlova was waiting for a bus to visit her mother in a district along the Dnipro that is usually too heavily shelled to reach. “It seems quiet today, so I decided to go see my mom,” she said. Russian missiles kill at least 3 civilians in Ukraine, officials say Minutes after 3 a.m., multiple ballistic missile explosions shook Kyiv and air alerts sounded across the country. Russian ballistic missiles damaged the grounds of a university in Kyiv, killing one person and leaving 12 wounded, city officials said. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, authorities said attacks late Monday killed two people and wounded four others. In total, Russia launched 16 ballistic missiles and more than 280 drones at 11 regions of Ukraine, Zelenskyy said. ------ By Hanna Arhirova Associated Press reporters Susie Blann and Derek Gatopoulos in Kyiv and Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed.
