Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova coordinated the mission, which utilized 25 buses and ambulances to deliver aid and extract willing residents after routes were de-mined. While more than 500 citizens initially requested transit toward Ukrainian territory, several hundred mostly older inhabitants decided to remain despite Russian troops occupying empty homes. The Kremlin noted that this rare cooperative framework is a special case that remains difficult to replicate in broader peace negotiations.
Key points
The joint evacuation represents a rare instance of direct humanitarian coordination betwe…: The joint evacuation represents a rare instance of direct humanitarian coordination between Russian and Ukrainian officials during the conflict.
Critical shortages of food and basic medicine have pushed the roughly 2,000 remaining res…: Critical shortages of food and basic medicine have pushed the roughly 2,000 remaining residents in the city toward starvation.
Russian authorities characterized the localized truce as a unique scenario that is unlike…: Russian authorities characterized the localized truce as a unique scenario that is unlikely to translate into wider peace talks.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
People living in the besieged Russian-held city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine were evacuated on Friday as part of a joint relief operation, the first of its kind in four years and eight months of war.
The city, which lies on the Russian-occupied side of the Dnipro River, opposite Kherson, has suffered months of serious food and medical shortages, leading to warnings of starvation for the few thousand people remaining there, including about 50 children.
The humanitarian convoy, including 25 buses and ambulances, had arrived in the city to deliver food and medicine and evacuate those wishing to leave for Russia or Ukraine.
The localised ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region allowed for the roads out of Oleshky to be de-mined, making evacuation possible.
Davyd Arakhamia, a lawmaker with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party – who was part of the delegation to Oleshky – confirmed the evacuation of some people who were travelling to the southern Russian city of Anapa.
“From there, they will fly by plane to Belarus, and then travel by bus to…
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