Three aircraft carrying residents evacuated from Oleshky landed at the Gomel airport in Belarus, according to Belta.
This evacuation represents the first instance of its kind in the four years and eight months of war. Evacuees travelled by bus across the Crimean peninsula to the Russian town of Anapa before taking flights to Belarus, Belta reported. Dozens of people were temporarily housed in Simferopol in Crimea during the transit.
The Russian Defence Ministry stated that residents were transported from Anapa to Gomel on Russian military aircraft, accompanied by Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets. Dmytro Lubinets and Yana Lantratova visited Oleshky on Friday to personally oversee the evacuation process.
The relief operation was coordinated by both Ukraine and Russia under a US-brokered ceasefire that has been in place since Tuesday. Both nations agreed to permit civilian evacuations and the delivery of aid in the region. The ceasefire is scheduled to remain in effect until and including Sunday.
Residents were moved as part of a joint relief operation conducted by the opposing sides. Dozens of other individuals chose to move to territories controlled by Russia as part of the relief operation. Belta reported that the evacuees will proceed to Ukraine via a border crossing.
Before the war began, Oleshky had a population of approximately 24,000.
