A planned six-day ceasefire in and around a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine held for its first day and night, officials said Wednesday, but Moscow and Kyiv continued to batter each other elsewhere.

The localized truce in the devastated southern city of Oleshky began Tuesday and is due to last through Sunday as a humanitarian operation races to get urgently needed food and medicine to about 2,000 remaining residents, as well as evacuate those who want to leave.

If the ceasefire holds, it will be the first time since Russia's invasion of its neighbor more than 4 1/2 years ago that the two sides have observed a significant truce.