Hundreds Evacuated From Oleshky Under Kherson Truce
A convoy of 25 buses took residents out of the devastated occupied city during a four-hour window. Many chose to stay.
Hundreds of residents of the devastated Russian-occupied city of Oleshky have been evacuated, Russian and Ukrainian authorities said. The evacuation followed a humanitarian ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump.
"Everything unfolded without any incidents, and both sides noted the high level of organisation," said Yana Lantratova, Russia's human rights ombudsman. Ukrainian authorities confirmed that the evacuees were on their way to southern Russia. From there they will travel on to Ukraine through Belarus.
Residents had a four-hour window on Friday to leave. A convoy of 25 buses was brought in to carry up to 750 people until 14:00 local time (12:00 GMT). Ambulances were there for people with limited mobility. Several hundred people are understood to have decided to stay, despite the widespread devastation and the lack of gas, electricity and running water.
The route out
Ukrainian military positions lie 5km (3.1 miles) from Oleshky, but evacuees first have to travel into Russian-occupied territory and then to the southern Russian city of Anapa. They will board a Russian government plane to Gomel in Belarus and drive across the border into Ukraine's Chernihiv region. Some are expected to remain in Russian-occupied territory instead.
The ceasefire has been in force across the whole frontline region of Kherson since Tuesday. It is the longest and most widespread since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022, and it allowed the road out of Oleshky to be demined. It is due to last until the end of Sunday, Nov. 1.
Melania Trump said that "all elements of the convoy, including the safe passageway in and out of Oleshky, was established through mutual agreement between Russian and Ukrainian leaders."
Two ombudsmen on the ground
Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and Lantratova travelled to Oleshky together on Friday from Armiansk in Russian-occupied Crimea. Lubinets is the first Ukrainian official to visit Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine since the war began. He will become the first to visit Russia when he escorts the evacuees into Ukraine on Saturday. He said the cooperation with Lantratova was carried out in the interests of saving lives, though some in Ukraine have recoiled at seeing him beside a representative of the occupying power.
"Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will be given the opportunity to do so safely," Lubinets said on Friday morning. "At the same time, those who decide to remain will be able to stay and will receive all the necessary humanitarian assistance." In a video from the town he said: "The problem is that a lot of people are staying." Russia said on Thursday it had prepared "dozens of tonnes" of aid for residents who do not leave, including food, medicine, hygiene products and fuel for generators.
An Oleshky resident told the BBC she had decided against leaving because "they wouldn't take my animals." Another resident, Olena, who now lives in Kyiv, said her grandmother and wider family were staying behind.
Speaking to journalists on Friday evening, Lantratova put out a joint request with her Ukrainian counterpart to the US First Lady. They asked that humanitarian missions like this one be carried out regularly under Melania Trump's coordination. Residents of Kherson told the BBC they were overjoyed by the ceasefire, but they fear the truce has given Russia time to build up its military presence on the banks of the Dnipro river, which could lead to a renewed assault once it expires.
The Kremlin made clear on Friday that the success of the Oleshky ceasefire should not be read as willingness to extend the truce to the rest of Ukraine.
Source: BBC