Local ceasefire around Oleschky

Despite renewed US mediation, Russia and Ukraine continued their attacks on each other on Friday and overnight. According to the White House, First Lady Melania Trump brokered a local ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv around the Oleschky front city in occupied southern Ukraine, which has been cut off for months. Both sides confirmed it. The Russian chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, said Russian forces would stop firing in the direction of Kherson as part of a humanitarian operation. Kyiv also agreed. The ceasefire was due to start on Tuesday at 2 a.m. CET, and its duration was not initially known.

Strikes on industrial sites

The Ukrainian General Staff said it had hit an arms plant producing electronic components for missiles and aircraft, as well as a facility producing rocket fuel in Tolyatti in the Samara region, where an explosion and fire followed. Ukraine also confirmed an attack on the Proton-Electrotex plant in Oryol, a maker of optoelectronic equipment. Russian Governor Andrei Klychkov said three people were killed and eight injured in a Ukrainian missile strike in the Oryol region, with bodies pulled from the rubble of a factory building. The target was not officially named.

Russian claims and retaliation

The Russian Defence Ministry said it had shot down 616 Ukrainian drones over more than 20 regions overnight, and that falling debris started fires and injured several people. It also said drones had attacked the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk and a cargo ship bound for Odesa. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had fired at least 126 drones at Ukraine, of which 101 were shot down, and that two people were injured in the capital, Kyiv. Both sides' figures cannot be independently verified.

Crimea outages and Starlink

In occupied Crimea, the Moscow-installed head of the peninsula, Sergei Aksyonov, reported power and water restrictions after a Ukrainian attack. He gave no figures for affected households in an area with more than 2.5 million residents. Ukraine's government said Starlink, the SpaceX satellite internet service, was again providing a stable connection. Defence Minister Yevhen Khmara said it was vital for the front, drone operations, logistics and communications. The Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk had ordered restrictions on Starshield for Ukraine, which Trump denied before intervening so that full access was restored.

Political reaction

CDU foreign policy spokesman Norbert Roettgen told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger that Trump is pursuing a deal with large concessions and is pressuring Ukraine, placing him on Russia's side.

“Trump can under no circumstances bring peace, but may bring about Ukraine's military defeat.”

He said Musk was a puppet of Trump on the Ukraine question. Relations between Kyiv and Washington have worsened in recent weeks, after Trump reached a diesel supply deal with Moscow and suspended planned sanctions against Russia.