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A massive evacuation and aid mission is under way in the devastated Ukrainian city of Oleshky, where First Lady Melania Trump brokered a temporary cease-fire as locals are reportedly surviving by eating grass.
Relief efforts from both sides of the conflict are on the ground in the Russian-occupied city on the brink of a catastrophe in the Kherson region to deliver food, clean water, medicine and other essential aid and prepare for a civilian evacuation.
A convoy of 25 buses, 50 medical professionals and ambulances is ready to evacuate more than 750 people who voluntarily choose to leave Oleshky, the first lady wrote on X on Friday.
Melania and a representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms of the localized ceasefire in the city 5 miles behind the front lines, the first lady’s office said.
The cease-fire, which took effect Tuesday, is due to expire by 1O:59 p.m. Sunday, Kyiv time.
“May this humanitarian mission end the suffering and begin a new chapter of durable peace between Russia and Ukraine,” she wrote on X on Thursday, before the crucial evacuation operation was under way.
Some residents are concerned about where they will end up if they evacuate and fear they may not be allowed to continue through the planned escape route to Ukrainian-controlled territory, which runs through Russia and its ally Belarus, NBC News reported.
Ukrainian authorities claim residents are being held hostage in the war-torn city, with Russian forces using them as human shields.
“People who wish to leave for the territory of the Russian Federation are gathering here,” Russia’s human-rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, said in a video statement from the city Friday.
“Over there are also people who wish to leave for the territory of Ukraine. Everyone will be given the opportunity to do so. People are gradually boarding the buses.”
The city’s population is estimated at 1,700 to 2,000 residents, down from roughly 20,000 before Russia’s invasion.
Food, drinking water, and medicine ran out in February, and reports claim that residents are eating grass to survive.
Ukraine’s human-rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, praised Melania Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for their involvement in the cease-fire.
“I hope that, with Melania Trump’s mediation, this mission will mark the beginning of a broader expansion of humanitarian operations aimed at rescuing civilians, bringing people home, and protecting human lives,” Lubinets wrote on X.
“Such practical steps can not only save individual lives but also help create the conditions for negotiations towards a lasting peace.”
