Finnish President and Norwegian Prime Minister Hold Call With Putin as Localized Ceasefire Begins in Ukraine’s Oleshky

Helsinki: Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, their offices confirmed on Tuesday. The call came as Russia and Ukraine began observing a localized ceasefire in the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky ahead of a planned humanitarian mission.

The call followed an October 20 meeting in Oslo between the two Nordic leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. According to official statements from Finland and Norway, it was held in consultation with Ukraine.

Stubb and Støre initiated the call to discuss the war and the upcoming trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, which are expected to take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in November. The statements stressed that the two leaders spoke for their own countries and not on behalf of Europe as a whole.

“The discussion was frank and substantive,” President Stubb said. “We are neighboring 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.”

Prime Minister Støre said the war carries enormous human and material costs and that its suffering and destruction will affect generations. He said the two leaders had stressed the importance of de-escalation during the call.

Humanitarian Truce in Oleshky

Earlier on Tuesday, a localized ceasefire took effect at 3 a.m. in Oleshky, a heavily damaged city in the partly occupied Kherson region. The pause is meant to allow an aid mission to reach the city later this week. Russia nevertheless continued deadly missile strikes on other Ukrainian cities.

Conditions in Oleshky are dire. According to the United Nations, up to 2,000 residents remain trapped there, unable to leave because of land mines and drone attacks, while food and medical supplies are running dangerously low. The Kherson region is known for the threat that Russian drones pose to both soldiers and civilians.

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, as well as the militaries of both countries, confirmed in separate statements that the ceasefire had begun. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that no violations had been reported so far.

Role of Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV

The truce was brokered with the involvement of US First Lady Melania Trump. According to her office, she led talks with civilian negotiators from Russia and Ukraine after being briefed by UN officials on the situation in Oleshky.

Earlier this month, Pope Leo XIV spoke with both President Zelenskyy and President Putin, urging them to allow humanitarian aid into Oleshky and the safe evacuation of civilians, the Vatican said. The Kremlin said at the time that Putin supported the Vatican’s appeal and that the sides had agreed to coordinate their efforts.

Negotiators involved in the mission said doctors, medicines, food, and water would be delivered to Oleshky before evacuation corridors are opened.

The operation carries high stakes for both Moscow and Kyiv, as each seeks to win favor with US President Donald Trump. Deep mistrust between the two sides, with Russia’s full-scale invasion approaching its fifth anniversary in February, has undermined earlier attempts at limited ceasefires, which either collapsed quickly or never took hold. Moscow and Kyiv continue to blame each other for the humanitarian crisis in the city.