Hundreds evacuated from occupied Oleshky under Melania Trump-brokered ceasefire

Hundreds of Ukrainian civilians trapped in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky were evacuated on Friday under a ceasefire brokered by first lady Melania Trump. The evacuation involved 527 people, according to a statement by Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretsky that was later retracted. Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets led the delegation, with Russia’s Yana Lantratova representing the Russian side. Buses will travel a circuitous route through Russia and Belarus due to front-line threats. Oleshky, in the Kherson region, has been under Russian occupation since early in the war, with its population dropping from roughly 24,000 to about 2,000. Lantratova has been accused by Ukrainian authorities of involvement in the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. Fighting continued elsewhere, including a Russian drone strike on a Ukrainian train that killed 15 people.