Residents evacuated from Russia-occupied Oleshky, lawmaker says

Some residents have been evacuated from Russia-occupied Oleshky and are traveling toward Ukrainian-held territory, a Ukrainian lawmaker said on Friday.

The news came on the fourth day of the most significant truce since Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine four-and-a-half 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.

Mr Arakhamia is a lawmaker with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party.

A convoy of 25 buses and some ambulances arrived in the war-ravaged city earlier on 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.

A localised ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region has held for four days and is due to continue through Sunday evening.

In identical statements, the two countries said: “Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will have the opportunity to do so safely.

“Those who choose to stay may remain and will receive all the humanitarian support they need.”

Officials from Russia and Ukraine worked together on the operation in a rare joint humanitarian effort.

The United States played a central role in the mission, with the White House saying it was brokered by first lady Melania Trump.

Pope Leo XIV also pressed the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to help Oleshky.

But outside Oleshky and its surroundings, the war continued.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said that air defences downed more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones overnight, and Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched ballistic and other missiles as well as scores of drones.

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s ombudsman and chief negotiator, said the convoy was set up in Armyansk, a town in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine about 85km south of Oleshky.

Demining of designated routes into the city was completed late on Thursday, officials said, adding that two people were killed during the work.

Mr Lubinets said the evacuation would run until 2pm local time and that aid would be begin being distributed 30 minutes later.

It wasn’t clear if he was using Ukrainian time or western Russian time, which is an hour ahead.The route that evacuees would take was not published.

Ukrainian territory is just across the River Dnipro from Oleshky, a couple of kilometres away.

A volunteer from Oleshky, Ksenia Arkhipova, told The Associated Press on Thursday that roughly 1,000 residents had told her they want to leave the city.

She said it was important that the Ukrainian delegation was present in Oleshky because many residents fear Russian authorities would interrogate or detain them.

Authorities have invited a small number of Russian, Ukrainian and US media organisations to cover the operation.