People attend an evacuation from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky. (Photo: Reuters).
A convoy of 25 buses was deployed to transport up to 750 people from the town by 2 pm local time. They will travel onwards to Ukraine through a border crossing, Belarusian state news agency Belta reported, according to Reuters. BBC reported.
Russia’s human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova said the evacuation had taken place without incident. Speaking on Friday evening, Lantratova said they had requested that “humanitarian missions such as this one, delivering aid to residents in need, be conducted on a regular basis under the coordination of Mrs Melania Trump”. The residents, who wished to return to Ukraine, were taken by bus through the Crimean peninsula to the Russian town of Anapa before being flown to Gomel in Belarus. Residents were reportedly starving and exhausted. Ambulances were also arranged for people with limited mobility.
Hundreds of residents have been evacuated from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky following a humanitarian ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, with three planes carrying evacuees landing at an airport in Belarus on Saturday, according to media reports. The evacuation took place on Friday as part of a joint relief operation involving the opposing sides, marking the first operation of its kind in four years and eight months of the war. Residents wishing to leave were given a four-hour window on Friday.