KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky began the long journey out of the war-ravaged region in bus convoys Friday, on the fourth day of the most significant truce since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 4½ years ago.
The estimated 2,000 remaining residents in the city of Oleshky were offered the choice of traveling to Ukrainian- or Russian-held territory, or remaining in the city with replenished food and medical supplies.
Ukrainian lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia said the evacuated residents bound for Ukraine were traveling to the city of Anapa in southern Russia from where they would fly to Belarus before crossing the border into northern Ukraine. Arakhamia is a member of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party.
The shortest route from Oleshky to Anapa is about 450 kilometers (280 miles) through Russian-held Crimea.
Russia’s ombudswoman and lead representative on the mission, Yana Lantratova said buses were also carrying Oleshky residents who want to live in Russia. Lantratova said the humanitarian mission was wrapping up and that it was conducted without incident.
Russia and Ukraine have not specified how many people chose to leave the city, but U.S. first lady Melania Trump, whom the White House said helped broker the localized truce, posted on social media Friday that the convoy could safely evacuate more than 750 people.
The truce provides a means to leave for those who want it
An aid convoy of 25 buses, some ambulances, trucks and other vehicles had arrived in the stranded city earlier Friday to deliver food and medicine.
Officials from both countries worked together in the rare joint humanitarian effort, offering a brief respite in the grim war of attrition. The localized ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region is expected to continue through Sunday evening.
The United States played a central role in the mission. Aside from the first lady's apparent role, Pope Leo XIV — the first American pontiff — also pressed Russian and Ukrainian leaders to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.
“Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will have the opportunity to do so safely,” Russia and Ukraine said in separate but identical statements earlier Friday. “Those who choose to stay may remain and will receive all the humanitarian support they need.”
Fighting continued elsewhere, however. Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses downed more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones overnight, while Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched ballistic and other missiles, along with scores of drones.
A Russian drone attack on a town in northeast Ukraine has left one woman dead and eight people injured, Ukraine’s emergency services said Friday. The strike occurred in the Sumy region in the town of Shostka, near Ukraine’s border with Russia. The agency said rescue efforts were hampered by repeated air raid alerts.
Residents fear what could happen during the evacuation
The humanitarian convoy was assembled in Armiansk, a town in Russian-occupied Crimea about 85 kilometers (55 miles) south of Oleshky, said Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s ombudsman and chief negotiator.
Demining of designated routes into the city was completed late Thursday, officials said. Two people were killed during that work.
Video posted by Lubinets’ office showed him meeting older residents in Oleshky. One woman tearfully hugged him as others smiled.
Ksenia Arkhipova, a volunteer who used to live in Oleshky and remains in contact with residents, said large numbers of Russian military personnel were in the city.
Associated Press writers Susie Blann and Derek Gatopoulos in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
