Civilians evacuated from besieged Ukrainian city of Oleshky under local ceasefire
A humanitarian convoy of 25 buses and ambulances reached the Russian-held city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine on Friday, allowing civilians to leave and receive food and medicine for the first time since the war began. The evacuation was made possible by a localised ceasefire that allowed roads out of the city to be de-mined. US First Lady Melania Trump said she had brokered the local ceasefire that enabled the operation.
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Civilians began leaving the besieged Russian-held city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine on Friday as a humanitarian convoy of 25 buses and ambulances delivered food and medicine in the first such operation since the war began. The city, located on the Russian-occupied side of the Dnipro River opposite Kherson, has suffered severe food and medical shortages. Warnings of starvation have been issued for the few thousand residents remaining, including around 50 children.
The evacuation was made possible by a localised ceasefire in Ukraine's southern Kherson region that allowed roads out of the city to be de-mined. However, despite Ukrainian-held territory lying just three miles away, evacuees wishing to reach Ukraine must travel via the Russian city of Anapa and Belarus before crossing into Ukraine's Chernihiv region. Ukrainian lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia, part of the delegation present in Oleshky, confirmed that some residents had begun the journey, while Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's presidential office, said the humanitarian operation was under way. US First Lady Melania Trump said she had brokered the local ceasefire that enabled the operation.
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