Evacuated residents from Russian-occupied Oleshky arrive in Ukraine
People fleeing the devastated city crossed from Belarus into the Chernihiv region on Saturday.
People evacuated from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky arrived in Ukraine's Chernihiv region on Saturday, according to BBC News. The group travelled from Belarus into Ukraine after moving through Russian-occupied territory and southern Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked US First Lady Melania Trump for her role in brokering a local ceasefire that enabled the Friday evacuation. The humanitarian ceasefire in the Kherson region began on Tuesday, providing the first period of peace in the area in four years.
Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated the evacuees included people aged between one and 94 years. A convoy of 25 buses and several ambulances left Oleshky on Friday afternoon, providing space for 750 people.
The ceasefire permitted the removal of mines from the exit route and the delivery of humanitarian aid. Residents in Oleshky had been without electricity, water, or food, with some reportedly eating garden weeds to survive.
Lubinets and his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, travelled to Oleshky on Friday. Lubinets, the first Ukrainian official to visit Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine since the war began, said the cooperation was necessary to save lives.
While many fled, several hundred people chose to remain in the city. Russia said on Thursday it had prepared dozens of tonnes of aid, including food and medicine, for those staying in the area.
