Kherson, Oct 30 (AP) Some residents have been evacuated from Russia-occupied Oleshky and are travelling toward Ukrainian-held territory, a Ukrainian lawmaker said Friday, on the fourth day of the most significant truce since Russia's full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine 4½ years ago.
Davyd Arakhamia said the evacuated residents would travel by bus to the city of Anapa in southern Russia before flying to Belarus and crossing the border into northern Ukraine. Arakhamia is a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party.
A convoy of 25 buses and some ambulances arrived in the war-ravaged city earlier Friday to deliver food and medicine and evacuate those residents who want to leave. About 2,000 people remain in Oleshky, according to authorities and volunteers.
“At this moment, the humanitarian operation is underway in Oleshky,” Kyrylo Budanov, who is head of Ukraine's presidential office, wrote in an online post. Budanov is not part of the Ukrainian delegation in Oleshky.
Officials from both countries worked together in the rare joint humanitarian effort, offering a brief bright spot in a grim war of attrition. The localised ceasefire in Ukraine's southern Kherson region is expected to continue through Sunday evening.
The United States played a central role in the mission. The White House said first lady Melania Trump helped broker the ceasefire and coordinate the humanitarian mission. Pope Leo XIV also pressed the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.
“Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will have the opportunity to do so safely,” Russia and Ukraine said in separate, identical statements. “Those who choose to stay may remain and will receive all the humanitarian support they need.”
Fighting continued elsewhere, however. Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences downed more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones overnight, while Ukraine's air force said Russia launched ballistic and other missiles, along with scores of drones.
Residents fear what could happen during the evacuation ----------------------------------------------------------------
The humanitarian convoy assembled in Armiansk, a town in Russian-occupied Crimea about 85 kilometres south of Oleshky, said Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's ombudsman and chief negotiator.
Demining of designated routes into the city was completed late Thursday, officials said. Two people were killed during the work.
Video posted by Lubinets' office showed him meeting older residents in Oleshky. One woman tearfully hugged him as others smiled.
Ksenia Arkhipova, a volunteer who used to live in Oleshky and remains in contact with residents, said large numbers of Russian military personnel were in the city.
“They are currently checking empty houses, and in some cases, moving into them,” she told The Associated Press. “They are also pressuring local residents to evacuate to Russia, rather than to Ukraine.”
Arkhipova said Thursday that about 1,000 residents had told her they wanted to leave. She said the Ukrainian delegation's presence was important because many residents feared Russian authorities would interrogate or detain them.
The evacuation route was not disclosed. Ukrainian-held territory lies just a few kilometres across the Dnipro River from Oleshky. Ukrainian public television reported that evacuees heading to Ukrainian-controlled territory would travel hundreds of kilometres through Russia and Belarus before crossing Ukraine's northern border.
Authorities have invited a small number of Russian, Ukrainian and US media organisations to cover the operation in Oleshky. (AP) GRS
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)