Evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky reach Ukraine amid ceasefire

Residents evacuated from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky have reached Ukraine under the most significant truce since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The ceasefire in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, which the White House says was brokered with help from US first lady Melania Trump, began at 3am local time on Tuesday and is expected to continue through Sunday evening.

It was a rare joint Russia-Ukraine humanitarian effort, a brief respite in the grim war.

Civilians from Oleshky, on the Dnipro River, began the long journey out of the war-ravaged region in bus convoys on Friday.

The estimated 2,000 remaining residents were offered the choice of travelling to Ukrainian- or Russian-held territory, or remaining in the city with replenished food and medical supplies.

Russia's Ministry of Defense said those who chose to travel from Oleshky to Ukrainian-held territory were taken to the Russian city of Anapa and flown to the Belarusian city of Homel.

They were accompanied by Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's commissioner for human rights, it said.

Russia and Ukraine have not specified how many people chose to leave the city, but the US first lady posted on social media on Friday that the humanitarian convoy could safely evacuate more than 750 people.

Reunions after some families separated for over two years

Relatives waited on Saturday at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, along with aid tents, coffee stands and even provisions to feed the pets the evacuees were bringing with them. 

Volunteers from organisations, including the Red Cross, Doctors without Borders and the World Central Kitchen, were also there.

Liza Paliy, who last saw her father over two years ago when she, her mother and sister fled from the occupied territory while he stayed behind, was among those waiting.

"We thought at that time that it would be a month, two maximum, and we would return, but unfortunately, two years have already passed," she said.

Daria Pavlyn also waited at the border in hopes of reuniting with her father, Mykhailo, whom she had not heard from in about a month.

He had planned to flee occupied territory with his family after a nearby strike killed two neighbours but stayed behind when arrangements to care for the family's home and animals fell through.

"We realised that, well, there was no (other) way, and he walked us to the road and that was it — that was the last time" they saw him, Pavlyn said.

She said that since then, he had feared making the arduous journey out, particularly without Russian documents.

AP