Russia and Ukraine begin localised ceasefire to allow for humanitarian operation in Oleshky
Russia and Ukraine have started a localised ceasefire to allow for a humanitarian operation to begin in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, both sides said on Tuesday.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Telegram it stopped shelling in the direction of the Ukrainian city of Kherson from 4am Moscow time (0100 GMT) to prepare for the humanitarian operation in Oleshky, just across the Dnipro River from Kherson.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s parliament commissioner for human rights, confirmed in a Facebook post the ceasefire has started at the same time.
“As head of the Ukrainian negotiating team, I confirm that the Ukrainian side is honouring its commitments,” he wrote.
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a localised ceasefire around the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, an arrangement that will enable aid deliveries and allow evacuations from a frontline town suffering acute shortages of food and medicine.
Maroosha Muzaffar27 October 2026 12:00
Zelensky says Finnish and Norwegian leaders pushed Putin to de-escalate energy attacks
The leaders of Finland and Norway told Russian president Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that attacks on Ukraine’s energy and infrastructure needed tobe de-escalated, according to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.
Finnish president Alexander Stubb and Norwegian premier Jonas Gahr Støre “clearly told the Russian leader that real de-escalation steps are needed regarding our energy sector and infrastructure,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram after talking to the two allies.
Adam Withnall27 October 2026 11:31
Zelensky says Ukraine has waited nearly a month for US approval of critical missile supplies
Ukraine has been waiting nearly a month for US defence secretary Pete Hegseth to approve missile supplies, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.
“We have been waiting for nearly a month for Mr Hegseth to sign off on missiles for Patriots and NASAMS. I instructed our team to raise this with the American side once again,” he said on X.
Kyiv is seeking interceptor missiles from the US, European countries and other partners to strengthen its air defences ahead of winter.
Patriot systems are particularly important for intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. The delay concerns supplies backed by Ukraine’s allies, with Washington’s approval required for transfers of US-made weapons.
Maroosha Muzaffar27 October 2026 11:00
Leaders of Finland and Norway hold ‘frank’ phone call with Putin
Finland’s president and Norway’s prime minister spoke on the phone with Russian president Vladimir Putin, officials said Tuesday.
The call, confirmed by the offices of Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish president Alexander Stubb, followed an 20 October meeting in Oslo between the two Nordic leaders, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The call was held in consultation with Ukraine, according to the official statements by the two Nordic countries. Stubb and Støre initiated the call to discuss the war and upcoming trilateral talks involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States that are expected to take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in November.
The two European leaders spoke on behalf of their own countries and not the whole of Europe, the statements said.
“The discussion was frank and substantive,” Stubb said. “We are neighbouring countries to Russia. The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions.”
“The war comes with enormous human and material costs,” Støre said. “The suffering and destruction will impact generations. In the call we stressed the importance of de-escalation.”
Adam Withnall27 October 2026 10:30
Russia halts strikes on Kherson as local ceasefire begins in Oleshky
Russia has suspended strikes towards Ukraine’s Kherson city as a local ceasefire began in Russian-occupied Oleshky on Tuesday, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
The truce is intended to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations from the town, which lies across the Dnipro River from Kherson.
The arrangement is limited to the Oleshky area and does not constitute a wider ceasefire in the war.
Maroosha Muzaffar27 October 2026 10:00
Zelensky calls strikes on major Kyiv road bridge a serious escalation
Russia struck a major road bridge in Kyiv overnight in attacks that included 16 ballistic missiles and more than 280 drones, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said, calling it a serious escalation against Ukrainian logistics.
“Tragically, there have been casualties and hits in Kyiv, including on the South Bridge, he said on X, referring to one of the main road bridges over the Dnipro River that bisects the Ukrainian capital.
“A serious escalation in Russia’s operation against our logistics. There were also strikes on the Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Odesa,Chernihiv, Sumy, Donetsk, Kherson, andChernivtsi regions.”
Adam Withnall27 October 2026 09:30
Death toll from Russian strike on Kharkiv Oblast park rises to 6
The death toll from a Russian drone strike on a park in Nova Vodolaha in Kharkiv Oblast on 19 October has risen to six, including three children, after 12-year-old Artem Koval died in a Kyiv hospital on Monday.
Artem’s eight-year-old sister, Arina, was killed at the scene, local media reports said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said a girl aged just over one, Anhelina, and her mother, Inna, also died, along with a 14-year-old girl.
At least 15 people were injured, including seven children.
Ukrainian prosecutors have opened a pre-trial investigation into a suspected war crime.
Maroosha Muzaffar27 October 2026 09:00
Germany’s Merz rejects idea of Ukraine peace talks without Kyiv
German chancellor Friedrich Merz has said it would be unacceptable for the US, Russia and China to try and reach an agreement about ending the war in Ukraine without Kyiv’s involvement.
Merz’s comments refer to a potential summit between the leaders of those three countries next month on the sidelines of the APEC gathering in Shenzhen, China.
The German leader was speaking during a lecture in Singapore on Tuesday, in which he warned that the collapse of the old global order threatens the interests of middle powers in Europe and in Asia.
Merz said new forms of cooperation between Europe and Asia were necessary and called for combining European and Asian trade agreements.
Adam Withnall27 October 2026 08:30
Russian sabotage network responsible for Romanian fire near weapons site, prosecutors say
Romania’s intelligence service has uncovered a sabotage network directed by Moscow, linking the group to a September fire at an industrial site near a state-owned weapons company.
The EU and Nato member state, which shares a border of more than 600 km (370 miles) with Ukraine, is facing a hybrid war waged by Russia to destabilise nations supporting Kyiv, centrist president Nicusor Dan said.
The hostile acts range from drone incursions into Romanian airspace to cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, sabotage, and strikes on cargo vessels near Romanian waters, according to Dan.
Maroosha Muzaffar27 October 2026 08:00
Where is Oleshky – and why is there a ceasefire?
Adam Withnall27 October 2026 07:30
