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Oleshky Evacuation Begins Amid Ceasefire
· Confirmed
In Short: The evacuation of residents from Oleshky, a city under Russian occupation in southern Ukraine, began on Friday as part of a US-brokered ceasefire.
The evacuation of residents from Oleshky, a city under Russian occupation in southern Ukraine, began on Friday as part of a US-brokered ceasefire.
Kyiv and Moscow officials arrived in Oleshky on Friday to oversee the operation, which includes the distribution of humanitarian aid.
The population of Oleshky has dropped from 24,000 before the war to about 2,000.
Ukrainian officials estimate that up to 6,000 civilians remain in frontline communities including Oleshky and Hola Prystan, among them more than 180 children.
The ceasefire, the longest and most widespread since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has been in force in the entire frontline region of Kherson since Tuesday, allowing for the road out of Oleshky to be demined.
According to Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will be given the opportunity to do so safely.
The ceasefire has now lasted 87 hours, and is due to remain in force until 10:59 p.m. on Nov. 1, according to Ukrainian officials.
Pope Leo XIV expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in Oleshky during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, urging a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and the safe evacuation of civilians.
The Pope initiated the call to plead the cause of the besieged city of Oleshky, according to Cardinal Parolin, the Holy See’s foreign minister.
Ukrainian authorities say the situation in Oleshky is dire, with the remaining population primarily elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water.
Some residents have decided against leaving because they wouldn't take their animals, while others are staying because the older generation does not want to leave.
The evacuation of civilians from Oleshky began earlier on Friday, alongside the distribution of humanitarian aid, as part of a US-brokered ceasefire.
What this adds
The evacuation of residents from Oleshky began on Friday as part of a US-brokered ceasefire, with officials from both Kyiv and Moscow overseeing the operation.
The ceasefire has been in force since Tuesday, allowing for the road out of Oleshky to be demined.
The evacuation process has required close cooperation between Russian and Ukrainian leaders to establish a safe passageway in and out of Oleshky.
The evacuation of Oleshky residents is a significant step in addressing the severe humanitarian crisis in the city.
Background
The evacuation of residents from Oleshky, a city under Russian occupation in southern Ukraine, began on Friday as part of a US-brokered ceasefire.
What's confirmed
- Washington (TDI): Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a temporary, localised ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations, following diplomatic efforts led by US First Lady Melania Trump, the White House announced on Friday.
- Pope Leo XIV expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, urging a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and the safe evacuation of civilians, the Vatican said.
- The White House statement came earlier in the day, saying the ceasefire is localized to the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky and would begin Oct. 29 to allow humanitarian aid in and prepare for civilian evacuations.
- “Under our agreement: first a ceasefire will be put in place; second, humanitarian aid will be delivered to Oleshky; and third, civilians will be allowed to move freely out of Oleshky,” Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, said in a video message posted online.
- Hundreds of residents of the devastated Russian-occupied city of Oleshky have been evacuated, Russian and Ukrainian authorities have said, following a humanitarian ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump.
- David Arakhamia, head of President Volodymyr Zelensky's parliamentary faction, said the Ukrainian delegation and evacuated residents of Oleshky were heading to Anapa in Russia's Krasnodar Krai on Oct. 30.
What's still developing
- 28, that a proposed energy ceasefire with Russia had failed because Moscow continued striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure, but welcomed initial progress under a separate US-brokered humanitarian truce in Russian-occupied Oleshky.
- According to his office, Zelenskyy gave the pope a detailed briefing on Russian strikes against Ukrainian cities, and the two "discussed the humanitarian catastrophe" in Oleshky.
- . 11; however, neither Russia nor Ukraine confirmed the agreement.
- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is under pressure from the US to reach an agreement with Russia to end the war. ( Pool: Henry Nicholls via Retuers ) The White House said Melania Trump had initiated discussions over the local ceasefire and that she and a representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms.
- Oleshky sits on the Russian-controlled side of the Dnieper river, opposite the provincial capital of Kherson, which is in Ukrainian hands.
- "That's how locals transport all wounded and dead people in Oleshky to the hospital and the hospital's morgue: in garden wheelbarrows."
- "The problem is that a lot of people are staying," he can be heard saying.