Evacuation of Russian-occupied Oleshky begins with aid convoy on way

Residents in the occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky began a desperate evacuation on Friday as a localised ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv held for a third day.A fleet of 25 buses with at least 750 seats stood ready to withdraw locals seeking to leave, Kyiv's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said. His Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, added that space would also be provided for their pets.The beleaguered frontline town in southern Ukraine, under Russian occupation since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, is subject to a temporary ceasefire until Sunday, reportedly following brokering efforts from US First Lady Melania Trump.Up to 6,000 people, including 200 children, remain in the town and its surrounding areas, trapped without regular access to food, water or electricity. Many are said to have resorted to cooking garden weeds and pigeons to survive.Yana Lantratova (L) with Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets in front of an aid convoy on Friday (Reuters)Russian newspaper Izvestia on Friday published clips of passenger buses parked along a road. Reporters from Western countries, Russia and Ukraine would accompany the convoy, it added. The convoy also includes ambulances and other vehicles for an aid mission due to take place later on Friday, Mr Lubinets said. “Our main task is to ensure that this aid reaches every person who needs it,” Mr Lubinets added. The convoy has been set up in Armyansk, a town in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine about 50 miles south of Oleshky.The convoy is expected to head for the district hospital and residents wishing to leave will be permitted to go within a specific time frame, until 2pm local time. Aid packages would then be distributed, officials said.Ms Lantratova was quoted as saying Moscow and Kyiv were sticking to their agreements, while a ceasefire was holding to enable aid to the town. Both commissioners and the US side had helped mediate the ceasefire.It follows weeks of efforts to organise a relief operation for residents of the acutely deprived town, which effectively stopped receiving regular food supplies in January.Ukraine last month appealed to international organisations to help deliver aid to the town and facilitate evacuations, but Russia did not agree to provide safe access until a humanitarian agreement was announced last Friday.According to the White House, residents wishing to leave during this week’s ceasefire would receive assistance and transportation to either Ukrainian-controlled territory or Russia.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Sunday that Moscow could selectively de-mine evacuation routes to force residents towards Russia, however.On Thursday, both sides said demining operations had been completed around the town and that the humanitarian operation was ready to begin, delivering aid to residents and letting some leave. Two people were killed in the demining effort, Ms Lantratova said on Friday.Russian military personnel pass by damaged vehicles during a demining operation in video published on Thursday (Reuters)The evacuation and aid operation aims to address a crisis in a town marooned inside a war zone since 2022. But it is also part of a diplomatic dance where both sides want to show Donald Trump that they back his peace efforts.Although US-mediated peace talks are due to resume next month in Abu Dhabi after a long pause, the two sides are far apart when it comes to terms for ending the war.Trump has cast Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as an obstacle to peace while praising Putin, who said on Thursday that Russia was “working on issues relating to a possible peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis itself”. However, Putin has also said that Russia ⁠is prepared ‌for a potential war with Europe, with a significant number of individual nations – plus the EU – having held strong in its support of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.The Russian president said his country would support any steps aimed at restoring relations with European countries, as he commented on his phone call with the leaders of Norway and Finland, which took place on Tuesday. But in a chilling threat, he said that if tensions were to escalate too far, there “would be no winners”."First of all, we are ready, but we want no war with Europe”, Putin said. “And if anyone wants it, let them prepare.”Elsewhere in Ukraine on Thursday and Friday, Russia struck an industrial facility near Kremenchuk while hitting the capital, Kyiv and Kharkiv, the second biggest city, to cause fires, officials said on the Telegram messaging app, after deadly strikes a day before.A residential building damaged from Russian attacks in Oleshky, in Kherson, on October 29 (AP)Russia has struck military facilities in Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram on Friday.It added that it hit energy infrastructure in and around Kyiv, as well as in the Dnipropetrovsk region, port facilities in the Odesa region and cargo vessels it said were used by the military.Russian authorities downed most of the more than 850 drones headed overnight towards Moscow, the capital's Mayor Sergei Sobyanian said on Telegram.