Ukraine and Russia launch joint evacuation of starving Oleshky residents

Residents of the Russian-held Ukrainian town of Oleshky began evacuating on Friday as part of a joint aid operation by both warring sides, the first such cooperation in over four years of war, under a local ceasefire brokered by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump. The operation, involving Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova and Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets, delivered food, medical supplies, and fuel, with 25 buses evacuating residents to either Russia or Ukraine. Attacks continued elsewhere, including a Russian strike that killed at least 15 people in Dnipro, while Russia reported shooting down 1,043 Ukrainian drones overnight. Oleshky, seized in February 2022 and flooded after the Kakhovka dam destruction, has seen residents survive on minimal rations. U.S.-mediated peace talks are due to resume in Abu Dhabi next month, with Kyiv seeking continued intelligence-sharing and military hardware flows.