Ukraine: Oleshky residents evacuate war-ravaged city

Residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky, in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, evacuated the war-torn city on Friday.

The evacuations come in the fourth day of a ceasefire in the city, the most significant truce since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine over four years ago.

The local ceasefire was brokered by US first lady Melania Trump. Pope Leo XIV also participated in deliberations with Russian and Ukrainian leaders to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.

Under the ceasefire deal, an aid convoy of 25 buses, some ambulances, trucks and other vehicles arrived in the city earlier on Friday to deliver food and medicine to residents.

Demining operations preceeded the aid convoy's arrival, with a Russian sapper and one other person killed in the process.

Officials from both Ukraine and Russia came to gether in the rare joint humanitarian effort, which is expected to continue through Sunday evening.

According to the plan, an estimated 2,000 remaining Oleshky residents were offered the choice of traveling to Ukrainian-held territory, Russian-held territory, or to remain in the city with replenished food and medical supplies.

If residents chose to go to Ukraine, they would travel 450 kilometers (280 miles) through Russian-held Crimea to reach the city of Anapa in southern Russia. Then they would fly to Belarus before crossing the border into northern Ukraine.

Russia's lead representative on the mission, Yana Lantratova, said buses would transport residents who want to live in Russia.

It remained unclear how many people chose to leave the city, but Melania Trump posted on social media that the convoy had safely evacuated more than 750 people.

Oleshky residents have spoken of the harrowing conditions they have had to suffer in the city, such as traveling along mine-strewn roads in search for food and water.

"The problem is that a lot of people are staying," one woman told Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

"I've been told that it's their own choice," Lubinets replied. "At the very least, we'll do what we can to ensure that somehow humanitarian aid gets through."

Lubinets was in charge of coordinating the operation with Lantratova.

The pair appeared side by side to address reporters and were cordial to one another, something not seen between Russian and Ukrainian officials since the start of the war.