occupied city as evacuation corridor opens

Key Points:

• A ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump has been in effect since Tuesday across the Kherson frontline, enabling the demining of the road out of Oleshky and facilitating evacuations.
• Residents of Oleshky have a four-hour window to leave via a convoy of 25 buses and ambulances, allowing up to 750 people to evacuate by 14:00 local time, though several hundred have chosen to remain despite severe infrastructure damage.
• Evacuees will travel through Russian-occupied territory to the Russian city of Anapa, then fly to Gomel in Belarus before entering Ukraine's Chernihiv region, with Ukrainian and Russian human rights officials coordinating the process.
• Russia has prepared substantial humanitarian aid for those staying behind, including food, medicine, hygiene products, and fuel, while some residents are reluctant to leave due to personal reasons such as caring for animals.
• The ceasefire, providing the first respite in the Kherson region since the 2022 invasion began, is set to last until the end of Sunday, 1 November.