{"text":[[{"start":8.68,"text":"Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a temporary ceasefire around the besieged town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, the White House said on Friday."}],[{"start":17.32,"text":"The localised ceasefire will allow humanitarian aid to enter the town and for civilians to be evacuated, according to a statement from the office of Melania Trump, the First Lady, who helped to secure the deal along with Pope Leo XIV."}],[{"start":32.04,"text":"“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,” the first lady said. “Oleshky’s remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food and clean water.”"}],[{"start":48.12,"text":"Pope Leo spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday to appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire while the Chicago-born Catholic spiritual leader was in hospital in Rome recovering from an operation to remove a cancerous growth from his lung, according to a Vatican statement."}],[{"start":63.52,"text":"The ceasefire was confirmed by one of Ukraine’s chief negotiators, David Arakhamia, in a post on social media, in which he thanked the Pope and the first lady for their role in brokering the deal. Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the ceasefire would guarantee “the free movement of civilians from Oleshky”."}],[{"start":81.4,"text":"Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, said Russia’s military was working on timing for a ceasefire in Oleshky."}],[{"start":88.2,"text":"He described setting up the corridor as “a large and complex operation” but declined to go into details about how it would work or how long it would last."}],[{"start":96.96,"text":"Peskov said Moscow did not have “rose-tinted glasses” about the initiative because Ukraine had not agreed to stop its attacks on Russian territory and continued to receive US military assistance, according to Tass."}],[{"start":109.704,"text":"Previous attempts to carry out limited ceasefires between Russia and Ukraine for humanitarian purposes have been marred by accusations of widespread violations."}],[{"start":117.84,"text":"Donald Trump’s recently announced energy ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv collapsed as the Kremlin continued to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and kill civilians."}],[{"start":127.52,"text":"Oleshky, which had a prewar population of 24,000 and has been under occupation since 2022, sits across the Dnipro River from the regional capital of Kherson."}],[{"start":137.52,"text":"Roads around the city are heavily mined and drones are a near-constant presence in the skies, which have made it dangerous to evacuate or bring in food and fuel."}],[{"start":146.6,"text":"The last food delivery to the city was in May and there are reports of local residents eating grass to survive, Ukrainian human rights defender and Nobel laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk said earlier this week."}],[{"start":158.52,"text":"Local residents have struggled to bury those who have died owing to the threat posed by Russian drones, she said."}],[{"start":165.96,"text":"Ukrainian forces have resorted to airlifting food into the city by drone in an attempt to ease the humanitarian crisis for residents trapped in the city."}],[{"start":174.36,"text":"Additional reporting by Max Seddon, Fabrice Deprez and Amy Kazmin"}],[{"start":184.24,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792805546_1239.mp3"}