Ukraine Warupdated 1h ago3 min read
MapEvacuees Leave Russian-Occupied Oleshky as Russia-Ukraine Truce Enables Humanitarian Convoy
“Pope Leo XIV also pressed the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to help Oleshky.”
“Under a local ceasefire brokered by US first lady Melania Trump, an aid convoy arrived in the town of Oleshky and people were given the opportunity to leave.”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
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Evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky began bus convoys during the local ceasefire. About 2,000 residents remain, offered evacuation to Ukrainian- or Russian-held territories.
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Oleshky evacuation begins
Evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky began traveling out of the war-ravaged city in bus convoys Friday, on the fourth day of the most significant truce since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 4½ years ago. Officials offered the estimated 2,000 remaining residents in Oleshky the choice of traveling to Ukrainian- or Russian-held territory, or remaining in the city with replenished food and medical supplies. Ukrainian lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia said evacuated residents bound for Ukraine were traveling to the city of Anapa in southern Russia, from where they would fly to Belarus before crossing the border into northern Ukraine.
Russia’s ombudswoman and lead representative on the mission, Yana Lantratova, said the humanitarian mission was wrapping up and that it was conducted without incident, while the localized ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region was expected to continue through Sunday evening. The United States played a central role in the mission, and Pope Leo XIV also pressed Russian and Ukrainian leaders to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations, as Russia and Ukraine said in separate but identical statements that “Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will have the opportunity to do so safely.”
Route, timing, and aid
An aid convoy of 25 buses, ambulances and other vehicles arrived earlier Friday to deliver food and medicine, and officials said the operation was a rare joint humanitarian effort with Russia and Ukraine working together. Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s ombudsman and chief negotiator, said the humanitarian convoy was assembled in Armiansk, a town in Russian-occupied Crimea about 85 kilometers (55 miles) south of Oleshky, and officials said demining of designated routes into the city was completed late Thursday. Officials said two people were killed during that work, and Lubinets said the evacuation would run until 2 p.m. local time with aid beginning to be distributed 30 minutes later.
Ksenia Arkhipova, a volunteer who used to live in Oleshky and remains in contact with residents, told The Associated Press on Thursday that about a thousand residents had told her they want to leave the city. The warring countries issued identical statements that “Those who choose to stay may remain and will receive all the humanitarian support they need,” while the convoy’s route was not published.
Ceasefire amid continued strikes
Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses 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. Ukraine’s emergency services said a Russian drone attack on a town in northeast Ukraine left one woman dead and eight people injured in the Sumy region in the town of Shostka, near Ukraine’s border with Russia. The agency said rescue efforts were hampered by repeated air raid alerts even as the humanitarian mission moved into Oleshky.
The White House said the mission was brokered by first lady Melania Trump, and Pope Leo XIV also pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to help Oleshky. Officials said the localized ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region had held for four days and was expected to end on Sunday night, even as residents feared what could happen during the evacuation.