Aid operation, evacuations underway in Ukraine's stricken city of Oleshky
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evacuations → stricken → Oleshky
Localized ceasefire holds for more than 3 days but attacks continue elsewhere in Ukraine
Starving and exhausted residents of a Russian-held town in southern Ukraine were being evacuated on Friday as part of a joint relief operation by the opposing sides, the first of its kind in four years and eight months of war.
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residents → hold → war
Under a local ceasefire brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump, an aid convoy arrived in the town of Oleshky to distribute food and medicine.
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convoy → broker → food
Those wishing to leave — some for Russia, some for Ukraine — were taken initially to Russian-annexed Crimea in 25 buses and nine ambulances, Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova said, before splitting into separate convoys.
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Lantratova → wish → convoys
Senior Ukrainian lawmaker David Arakhamia said those heading for Ukraine would be taken from there to Anapa, in southern Russia, before flying to Belarus and finally crossing back into Ukraine by bus — a route of more than 1,600 kilometres.
"
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those → say → kilometres
The problem is that a lot of people are staying," one woman told Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, who was on the ground to co-ordinate the operation with Lantratova.
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who → stay → Lantratova
"I’ve been told that it’s their own choice," Lubinets replied.
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Lubinets → tell → ?
"At the very least, we’ll do what we can to ensure that somehow humanitarian aid gets through.
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aid → do → least
"
Although it was a striking example of co-operation between the warring sides, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin described it as "difficult to extrapolate" to the wider search for peace.
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spokesperson → war → peace
Attacks continued elsewhere, with Russian strikes overnight targeting seven regions of Ukraine, as well as the capital Kyiv and the southeastern city of Dnipro, officials said.
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officials → continue → Dnipro
On Thursday, a Russian drone killed at least 15 people on a rail platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
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drone → kill → Dnipro
People stand next to a building in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday that was damaged by a late-evening Russian missile strike.
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that → stand → strike
Russia said Ukraine had resumed strikes on its oil refineries despite a request from U.S. President Donald Trump to stop such attacks, which Trump has blamed for raising the cost of diesel ahead of U.S. midterm elections next week.
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Trump → say → elections
Russian drone strike kills at least 14 on Ukrainian rail platform
Russia, Ukraine begin ceasefire in city of Oleshky as deadly strikes continue elsewhere
Both sides have heaped praise on the U.S. first lady for brokering the deal for Oleshky.
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sides → kill → Oleshky
Both have a strong interest in ensuring its success to avoid antagonizing her husband at a crucial moment, with the U.S. elections only days away and U.S.-mediated peace talks due to resume in November after nine months.
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Both → have → months
For Russia, which seized Oleshky in the first days of the war in 2022, the operation also provides a PR opportunity.
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operation → seize → opportunity
Russian state TV has shown aid boxes destined for Oleshky, decorated with the Russian flag, being loaded by people wearing T-shirts reading "Putin's Team — The People's Front."
Oleshky, on the Dnipro River opposite the city of Kherson, has suffered extensive damage and was badly flooded after the destruction of the huge upriver Kakhovka dam in 2023.
Residents have given harrowing accounts of risking their lives traveling along mine-strewn roads — one known as the "road of death" — to get food and water.
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Residents → show → food
Some say they have survived on a cup of rice or buckwheat a day, sometimes with a tomato, cucumber or wild plants added.
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they → say → tomato
Russia's Lantratova said food, hygiene products, medical supplies and fuel were being delivered to the town.
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food → say → town
Ukraine's Lubinets said everyone in need of help would get it.
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everyone → say → it
Relations between the two were strikingly cordial — something not seen between Russian and Ukrainian officials since the start of the war — as they appeared side by side to address reporters.
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they → see → reporters
They later spoke together to residents, some of whom were in tears.
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some → speak → tears
One woman switched hesitantly between Russian and Ukrainian, a moment that seemed to symbolize the plight of fearful people caught in the midst of a war.
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that → switch → war
The ceasefire had come into force in Oleshky and the Kherson region on Tuesday.
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ceasefire → come → Tuesday
"This is the first time since 2022 that a ceasefire has been established across such an extensive stretch of the front line and has been maintained for such a significant duration," Lubinets said.
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Lubinets → establish → duration
The arrival of the aid convoy was preceded by demining operations in which Lantratova said a Russian sapper and one other person were killed.
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sapper → precede → which
She said 25 buses were on hand for evacuations, with special provision for those who were bedridden, and 50 medical personnel were present.
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personnel → say → those
There was even a bus with pet cages for those who wished to take their animals with them.
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who → be → them
The joint relief operation showed the two sides are capable of working together despite the ferocity of the war, in which both have intensified long-range air strikes this year while battlefield front lines remain largely static.
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lines → show → strikes
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was a "high degree of coordination" between Lantratova and Lubinets.
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Peskov → say → Lantratova
However, asked later by a state TV reporter if this showed it was possible for Russia and Ukraine to agree on other issues, he replied: "This is an isolated situation, which is difficult to extrapolate to the entire settlement process at this stage."
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which → ask → stage
The two sides remain far apart on terms for a peace deal, but technical talks are due to resume in Abu Dhabi next month for the first time since the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran in February, distracting Trump from his long-running effort to end the conflict.
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U.S. → remain → conflict
The Aporia
