Localized Ukraine ceasefire brokered by Melania Trump starts as Nordic leaders speak to Putin

KHERSON, Ukraine — Russia and Ukraine began observing a localized ceasefire in a devastated southern Ukrainian city on Tuesday, ahead of a planned humanitarian mission the White House said was brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump. Moscow kept up its deadly missile attacks on other cities in the meantime. Meanwhile, Finland’s president and Norway’s prime minister spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, officials said, in their first known direct contact since shortly after Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022. Many Western officials have accused Putin of masterminding a campaign of disruption across Europe and have sought to diplomatically isolate the Russian leader. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb later spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to Zelenskyy's office. A ceasefire takes hold in a southern Ukraine city, officials say A local pause in fighting started at 3 a.m. to allow an aid mission into the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky this week. Food and medical supplie