Starved and exhausted residents of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky have crossed into Ukraine in a major evacuation operation of civilians, under the first humanitarian truce of its kind in more than four years of Moscow’s war.
asserted
residents → occupy → war
The six-day ceasefire covering the town was reached with mediation efforts by US First Lady Melania Trump and help from Pope Leo XIV.
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ceasefire → cover → XIV
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it → invest → Ukraine
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“Ukrainian citizens from Oleshky have crossed the Ukrainian border in the Chernihiv region.
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citizens → cross → region
All of them will receive the assistance they need,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X, thanking the United States and the first lady for mediating.
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Zelenskyy → receive → States
“Further steps toward de-escalation and real progress toward peace are also needed,” he added.
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he → need → peace
Evacuees wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags stepped off buses at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border and reunited with family members.
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Evacuees → wrap → members
Ukrainian officials met the evacuees with posters reading “You’re not alone” and “We embrace with our hearts”, while residents from nearby villages lined the highway waving flags and flashlights to greet them.
Forced to eat grass
Supply routes to Oleshky had been disrupted by fighting and drones.
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routes → meet → fighting
According to some residents, food deliveries were stopped in May, pushing hundreds of people into starvation.
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deliveries → accord → starvation
One evacuee, an elderly man in a wheelchair, told the Reuters news agency that he had lost 20kg (44lbs) over the past year, becoming so weak he required hospital treatment.
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he → tell → treatment
Another evacuee, Svitlana Yermakova, told Reuters they had to eat grass to survive.
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they → tell → grass
“We chopped grass and squash… just to hold on,” she said, adding that she risked riding by bicycle through minefields to a nearby village to get food for herself and her dog.
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she → chop → herself
To reach Ukrainian-held territory, Oleshky residents had to take a complicated route to leave the devastated town just a few kilometres from the front line.
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residents → reach → line
They first crossed Crimea by bus to the Russian town of Anapa before flying to Belarus, from where they crossed into Ukraine.
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they → cross → Ukraine
Ambulances lined the street, and several large military tents were erected, where hot meals, tea and medical aid were provided.
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meals → line → street
Russian and Ukrainian officials say the ceasefire in Oleshky has held since Tuesday, allowing them to de-mine the roads and bring food, medicines and other supplies into the town again.
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them → say → town
The truce is due to end on Sunday evening.
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truce → end → evening
Some stay behind
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Some → stay → ?
Some residents have decided to remain in Oleshky, despite the ongoing lack of gas, electricity and running water.
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residents → decide → gas
Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova said living conditions in the occupied Oleshky remained difficult, pledging she would continue to work with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Lubinets, to help those who stayed.
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who → say → those
“The mission has come to an end,” she said on Telegram.
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she → come → Telegram
“We have agreed to carry out regular humanitarian missions, which is a very important step.”
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which → agree → missions
Oleshky had a pre-war population of about 24,000, which plunged to an estimated 1,700 before the evacuation.
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which → have → evacuation
Ukrainian officials have not said exactly how many residents were evacuated or how many remained.
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many → say → ?
Despite the ceasefire in Oleshky, fighting rages on in other parts of the front, with Russia and Ukraine keeping up drone attacks against each other.
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Russia → rag → other
The Aporia
