Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
Ukraine’s military said it evacuated 167 people from threatened areas of southern Kherson region on Sunday as a temporary local ceasefire expired — two days after buses carried residents out of the Russian-held town of Oleshky.
A six-day local ceasefire in Oleshky and the surrounding area was reached after mediation efforts by US first lady Melania Trump and with the involvement of Pope Leo.
The ceasefire expired at midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT). There was no immediate indication of any resumption of hostilities on either side.
It was the longest local pause in fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Ukraine’s Ombudsman for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, writing on Telegram, said both sides had “upheld the obligations they undertook throughout the duration of this period.”
Lubinets said he and Yana Lantratova, Russia’s commissioner for human rights, were “exploring possibilities to continue similar humanitarian efforts. It is important to maintain this interaction mechanism so that we can keep helping people and saving lives.”
Earlier, Ukraine’s General Staff issued a statement saying that its units, in cooperation with local authorities, “evacuated 167 civilians to safer points in the Kherson region.”
