Key facts
- Zelensky said the Oleshky mission showed monitoring, arms withdrawals and buffer zones need not precede a ceasefire.
- Lubinets said both sides observed the Oleshky truce for five days, 19 hours and 59 minutes.
- Zelensky said Russia launched 36 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight on November 7.
- Ukraine's Air Force said it intercepted four of the ballistic missiles.
- The Kremlin has publicly ruled out further humanitarian operations in the foreseeable future, per the report.
- Trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi are expected on November 10 with Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on November 7 that the humanitarian operation to evacuate civilians from Russian-occupied Oleshky in Kherson Oblast showed a ceasefire can be arranged quickly without lengthy technical preparation. His comments came ahead of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi expected on November 10 involving Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. officials.
In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Zelensky said the Oleshky mission, mediated by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, showed that monitoring, arms withdrawals and buffer zones need not be preconditions. "Modern warfare is technologically different. Monitoring can be conducted using drones," he said, arguing that the main obstacle was Russian President Vladimir Putin's political will rather than technical difficulty. "As we saw, the decision to establish a ceasefire in Oleshky was made very quickly. And it worked," Zelensky said.
A localized ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia lasted from October 27 to November 1, allowing civilians to leave Oleshky, which has been under Russian occupation since 2022. Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, headed the Ukrainian delegation and said at a press conference at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington on November 6 that both sides observed the truce for five days, 19 hours and 59 minutes.
Lubinets said he visited Russian-occupied territory during the mission, describing it as an "unprecedented development since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion." The operation followed months of efforts to aid residents facing shortages of food, drinking water, electricity and medical supplies, with the involvement of the U.S. First Lady and her team in September described as a turning point. The Kremlin has publicly ruled out further such humanitarian operations in the foreseeable future, according to the report.
Zelensky also said Russia had intensified attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure, and following a meeting on the consequences of an overnight attack on November 7 said Russia launched 36 ballistic missiles, all at Kyiv and the surrounding region. Ukraine's Air Force said it intercepted four. Zelensky said Ukraine faced a shortage of interceptors for Patriot air defense systems and called on the U.S. and other allies to maintain a principled position.
The trilateral meeting was initially expected in October after U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited Ukraine and Russia, but the Kremlin later declined to participate, the report said. Moscow has repeatedly rejected Western-backed proposals for a full and unconditional ceasefire while continuing to demand that Ukraine cede Donbas.