KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Russian and Ukrainian officials on a humanitarian mission said Friday they entered the devastated city of Oleshky following a rare ceasefire.
The chief coordinators of the operation, Yana Lantratova from Russia and Ukraine’s Dmytro Lubinets, announced that the operation had begun after demining local roads.
Lantratova said in a video released by the Russian state Tass news agency that people willing to leave Oleshky were boarding
buses. Those who stay are set to receive aid.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back for updates. AP’s earlier story follows below.
A humanitarian convoy for the stricken city of Oleshky has been set up in a nearby town. It includes 25 buses, ambulances and other vehicles for the aid mission due to take place later Friday, a Ukrainian official said. “We are bringing humanitarian aid to the local residents of the city of Oleshky,” Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's ombudsman and chief negotiator, said. “Our main task is to ensure that this aid reaches every person who needs it. We pay special attention to the elderly, people with disabilities.” Lubinets said the convoy had been set up in Armyansk, a town in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine about 85 kilometers (53 miles) south of Oleshky.
A localized ceasefire and the aid mission were brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump, who led talks with Lubinets and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova.
Oleshky, just inside Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, gained global attention as its residents became stranded by heavy fighting and mined roads and ran out of food and medicine.
Moscow and Kyiv have observed the truce in and around the devastated southern Ukrainian city since Tuesday, but remain otherwise fully engaged in the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion more than 4½ years ago. Previous ceasefire talks failed or the resulting truces quickly fell apart.
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