KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — A humanitarian mission entered the devastated city of Oleshky on Friday, officials said, as Russia and Ukraine observed the most significant truce of the 4½-year war that began with Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
A convoy including 25 buses, ambulances and aid supplies was due to arrive in the Russian-occupied city to deliver food and medicine and evacuate residents wishing to leave for Russia or Ukraine. About 2,000 people remain in Oleshky, according to authorities and volunteers.
A localized ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region has held for four days and is due to continue through Sunday evening to allow the operation to proceed.
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“Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will have the opportunity to do so safely,” Russia and Ukraine said in identical statements. “Those who choose to stay may remain and will receive all the humanitarian support they need.”
Officials from both countries worked together in a rare joint humanitarian effort, offering a brief bright spot in a grim war of attrition.
The United States played a central role in the mission, which the White House said was brokered by first lady Melania Trump. Pope Leo XIV also pressed Russian and Ukrainian leaders to help Oleshky.
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.
The convoy assembled in Armiansk, a town in Russian-occupied Ukraine about 85 kilometers (53 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 the work.
Video posted by Lubinets’ office showed him meeting older residents in Oleshky. One woman tearfully hugged him as others smiled.
Lubinets said evacuations would continue until 2 p.m. local time, with aid distribution beginning 30 minutes later. It was unclear whether he meant Ukrainian time or western Russian time, which is an hour ahead.
Ksenia Arkhipova, a volunteer who previously lived in Oleshky and remains in contact with residents, said large numbers of Russian military personnel were in the city.
“They are currently checking empty houses, and in some cases, moving into them,” she told The Associated Press. “They are also pressuring local residents to evacuate to Russia, rather than to Ukraine.”
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Arkhipova said Thursday that about 1,000 residents had told her they wanted to leave. She said the Ukrainian delegation’s presence was important because many residents feared Russian authorities would interrogate or detain them.
The evacuation route was not disclosed. Ukrainian-held territory lies just a few kilometers (miles) across the Dnipro River from Oleshky.
But Ukrainian public television reported that those heading to Ukraine would travel hundreds of kilometers (miles), entering the country through its northern border with Belarus.
Authorities have invited a small number of Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. media organizations to cover the operation in Oleshky.
Associated Press writers Susie Blann and Derek Gatopoulos in Kyiv, Ukraine and Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia contributed to this report.
