Russia and Ukraine began a regional cease-fire Tuesday to launch a humanitarian mission in occupied Oleshky, though fighting persisted elsewhere, including the capital of Kyiv.
The cease-fire is intended to enable aid deliveries and evacuations from the frontline southern Ukrainian town, which faces acute shortages of food and medicine.
"As head of the Ukrainian negotiating team, I confirm that the Ukrainian side is honoring its commitments," Dmytro Lubinets, the parliamentary commissioner for human rights, said on Facebook, confirming the halt's timing.
On Telegram, Russia's Defense Ministry said it stopped shelling toward the Ukrainian city of Kherson starting at 4 a.m. Moscow time (1 a.m. GMT) to prepare for the Oleshky effort; Oleshky faces Kherson across the Dnipro River.
Lubinets added the deal was reached in coordination with U.S. first lady Melania Trump and Russia's commissioner for human rights, Yana Lantratova.
New strikes Tuesday hit the Southern Bridge and subway infrastructure in Kyiv, forcing traffic suspension, city officials said. A Reuters witness heard explosions.
Oleshky lies on the Dnipro's eastern bank in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, opposite Kherson, held by Ukrainian forces.
Russian troops have controlled the town since seizing it in the early days of their February 2022 invasion.
White House envoys talked with both sides in recent days to find a solution as the U.S. seeks to mediate a peace deal to end the war, Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.
Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said peace negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States agreed to meet at a technical level in early November in Abu Dhabi to continue the talks.
Since Monday evening, a Russian missile attack on Kyiv killed at least one person and injured 15, including students in a dormitory. The attacks also killed and injured people in Kharkiv and Pavlohrad.
On Telegram, the Russian Defense Ministry said it hit transport infrastructure in Kyiv, a logistics hub in Kharkiv region, as well as industrial facilities and cargo vessels elsewhere it said were being put to military use.
A drone attack killed one man and wounded six others in the western Russian city of Bryansk, near the Ukrainian border.
A drone hit a bus, killing another person and injuring 30 in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, local officials said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the reports. Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians.
