Ukraine and Russia agree rare ceasefire to evacuate Oleshky residents

Ukraine and Russia jointly organized a rare six-day ceasefire to evacuate residents and deliver food to the besieged frontline town of Oleshky, marking an unprecedented humanitarian agreement since the war began. The truce, running from Tuesday to Sunday, was coordinated by Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and Russian counterpart Jana Lantratova. Before aid arrived, mine-clearing operations killed two people, as flooding had scattered explosives throughout the area. Twenty-five buses with 750 seats were prepared for evacuation, with routes planned through Russia, Belarus, and back to Ukraine, though the number of evacuees remained unclear. Oleshky, occupied by Russian forces since February 2022, sits along the Dnipro frontline with mined access roads and a destroyed bridge. Its population has fallen from 24,000 to roughly 2,000. Moscow denied accusations of deliberately starving the town, while observers noted the deal could signal a gesture toward the incoming Trump administration.