Notes and Essays -- John Brown

The truce appeared to be holding Tuesday, with the two sides conducting attacks elsewhere but not in Oleshky . Melania Trump image (not from article) from see also article via AP Oct. 26, 2026, 9:42 PM EDT  Updated Oct. 27, 2026, 6:23 AM ED original article contains links Text by Yuliya Talmazan A rare humanitarian ceasefire brokered by first lady Melania Trump to save people trapped in a Russian-occupied Ukrainian town went into effect early Tuesday. After months of warnings from Ukrainian officials about an unraveling humanitarian catastrophe in the front-line town of Oleshky, in the southern Kherson region, the White House announced last week that the first lady had secured a pause in the fighting.   The agreement would “temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway,” it said. Hours after it began at 3 a.m. local time (9 p.m. ET Monday), the ceasefire appeare...

from The lights in Ukraine’s capital city are failing as Russian missiles pound its power plants. The mood is darkening too. Kyiv is bracing for its worst winter since the full-scale war began as a relentless campaign of Russian missile and drone strikes systematically dismantles Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Following a failed energy ceasefire proposal on October 11, Russia has executed over 170 attacks targeting critical power grids, turning the capital into a front-line city characterized by daily blackouts, frozen transit, and looming utility failures. [ 1 , 2 ] Current Impact on Daily Life Grid Collapse: Widespread strikes have severely damaged dozens of substations and critical generation plants—including Combined Heat and Power Plants 4 and 5 and the Trypillya Thermal Power Plant—leaving hundreds of thousands of households without electricity. [ 1 , 2 ] Transit Paralysis: Rolling emergency blackouts have repeatedly paralyzed the Kyiv Metro system, trapping commuters i...