Aid convoy enters Russian-held Oleshky as evacuations begin

Oleshky — An aid convoy carrying food and medical supplies has entered the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, as evacuations of civilians got under way on Friday under a six-day ceasefire brokered by the United States. Hundreds of residents had left the devastated town by midday, Russian and Ukrainian authorities said, on the third day of what both sides describe as the longest and most widespread local truce since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

According to the BBC, residents who wished to leave had a four-hour window on Friday, with 25 buses providing up to 750 seats and ambulances for people with limited mobility; departures were to end at 14:00 local time. The road out had been demined during the truce, though Russia's human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova said two people were killed in that effort, Al Jazeera reported.

The evacuation route is anything but direct. Ukrainian-held territory lies just 5km away, but evacuees bound for Ukraine must first travel into Russian-occupied territory, then to the Russian city of Anapa, fly to Gomel in Belarus and cross by road into the Chernihiv region. Others are expected to remain in Russian-occupied territory. Ukraine's ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets travelled to Oleshky alongside Lantratova — the first Ukrainian official to visit occupied territory since the war began — and is due to escort evacuees back through Russia on Saturday.

The White House says First Lady Melania Trump mediated the truce, after hearing of the town's plight during the UN General Assembly in September; she described Oleshky as "on the brink of disaster" and said the safe passageway was established "through mutual agreement between Russian and Ukrainian leaders". The Vatican has offered a rival account, suggesting the pope helped secure the pause through calls with Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy.

Several hundred residents are understood to be staying, despite the lack of gas, electricity and running water. "Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will be given the opportunity to do so safely," Lubinets said, adding that those who remain "will receive all the necessary humanitarian assistance". Russia said it had prepared "dozens of tonnes" of food, medicine, hygiene products and generator fuel. The town, once home to about 24,000 people, still shelters up to 2,000, according to the White House.

Moscow has been careful to fence the arrangement off from any wider diplomacy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Oleshky an isolated case, and the Kremlin described the mission as "difficult to extrapolate" to a peace settlement, the South China Morning Post reported. The war elsewhere did not pause: Russia struck targets near Kremenchuk, Kyiv and Kharkiv, while Moscow's mayor said most of more than 850 drones launched towards the capital were downed overnight.

The ceasefire across the Kherson frontline region is due to hold until the end of Sunday 1 November. The immediate tests are whether it survives that deadline, and whether the promised aid reaches those who chose to stay.