Russia and Ukraine begin evacuating stranded residents from Oleshky under a US-brokered ceasefire, as attacks elsewhere, including Dnipro, continue unabated.
KYIV: The evacuation of stranded residents in Oleshky, a ravaged Ukrainian frontline city under Russian occupation, was beginning on Friday as part of a US-brokered ceasefire, officials from both Russia and Ukraine said.
Captured by Russia in 2022, locals in the city had faced food, water and medicine shortages for months, with some being forced to hunt and eat pigeons, former residents told AFP.
Officials from both Moscow and Kyiv arrived in Oleshky on Friday to oversee the operation.
“Evacuation and distribution of humanitarian aid have begun,” Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said on social media.
Russia’s human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova posted a video showing groups of people waiting to board buses.
Some would be taken to Russia, others to Kyiv-controlled parts of Ukraine, she said.
The population of Oleshky has dropped from 24,000 before the war to about 2,000.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets posted videos of himself talking to locals, several of whom thanked him, were crying and wiping tears from their eyes.
Groups of residents were seen waiting outside their buildings with bags of belongings ready to leave.
Officials from both countries have said some in the city would choose to stay, even if the fighting resumes.
The ceasefire — announced by US First Lady Melania Trump last week – is due to end on Sunday evening.
Now in its fourth day, it is the longest pause in fighting anywhere on the front line since Russia invaded in 2022.
Several other partial ceasefires — for instance, around Orthodox Easter — have been marred by accusations of violations.
Despite the brief respite in the conflict around Oleshky, attacks elsewhere have continued unabated.
Some 200,000 households were left without power in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro after Russian attacks overnight.
A drone strike on a train station there a day earlier killed at least 14 people, while an attack on the northern city of Chernigiv killed two teenage girls.
