Oleshky evacuees reunite with families in Ukraine as truce nears end
People who fled Russian-held Oleshky crossed into Ukraine on Saturday and met their families, AP and the BBC report. They traveled by bus and plane through Russia and Belarus. Ukraine has not said how many people left, and the local truce that made the trip possible was due to end Sunday evening, AP says.
Evacuees from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, in Ukraine's Kherson region, crossed into Ukrainian-held territory on Saturday, AP and the BBC report. Some had not seen their families for years, the BBC says.
The evacuees left Oleshky by bus on Friday afternoon, the BBC reports. The convoy of 25 buses had room for 750 people, plus ambulances, the BBC and the Kyiv Independent report. The group went to southern Russia and then flew to Belarus, the BBC says. Four planes landed in Gomel on Saturday, David Arakhamia, head of President Volodymyr Zelensky's faction in parliament, said, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine has not said how many people left, to protect those who stayed, AP reports. Melania Trump, who the White House says helped broker the truce, said the convoy could safely take out more than 750 people, AP says. About 2,000 people were in Oleshky when the truce began, AP reports. Several hundred are believed to have stayed, the BBC says.
Some who chose Russian-held land went to a shelter in Simferopol, in Crimea, said Russia's rights official, Yana Lantratova, according to AP.
Ukraine's rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said the evacuees ranged in age from about one to 94, AP and the BBC report. They brought pets, including dogs, cats, a parrot and a raccoon, he said, according to AP. Lantratova said the two sides had agreed to hold regular aid missions in and around Oleshky, AP reports.
Lubinets is the first Ukrainian official to visit Russian-held parts of Ukraine since the war began, the BBC says. A volunteer from Oleshky said Russia broke the deal by starting to move people out early, the Kyiv Independent reports.
The truce began early Tuesday and was expected to end Sunday evening, AP reports. Local officials warn that Russian forces have brought in more weapons and troops, AP says. Russia kept hitting Ukraine's power grid elsewhere, AP reports.
What we know: The evacuation is over, and people who chose Ukraine have reached Ukrainian-held land.
What we don't: How many people left, and whether fighting around Oleshky resumes when the truce ends.
Where outlets agree AP, the BBC and the Kyiv Independent agree that the evacuees traveled from Oleshky through Belarus on their way to Ukrainian-held territory, and that residents were free to stay.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.