Civilians Evacuated From Russian-Held Oleshky Under Melania Trump-Brokered Local Ceasefire

Hundreds of civilians were evacuated on Friday from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in Ukraine's Kherson region under a localized ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump. The truce took effect Tuesday and is due to expire at 10:59 p.m. Sunday, Kyiv time, according to her office. A convoy of 25 buses, with room for 750 people, plus ambulances and more than 50 medical professionals, was sent in, and officials said roads were de-mined during the truce. Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, travelled to the city together. Lubinets said everyone who wished to leave had the chance and that aid had been delivered. Evacuees must travel through Russian-held territory to Anapa, fly to Gomel in Belarus, then cross into Ukraine's Chernihiv region, although Ukrainian-held land is about 5 km away. Several hundred people chose to stay in a city short of food, gas, electricity and water.

The right-leaning New York Post and Washington Examiner lead with Melania Trump. The Post quotes her posts on X, reports that locals were eating grass, and says Ukrainian authorities claim residents are held hostage. The Examiner stresses that Lubinets was the first Ukrainian official to visit occupied territory since 2022 and notes that Prime Minister Serhii Koretsky announced 527 evacuees, then retracted it. The left-leaning Guardian and NBC News also report the truce and the numbers. The Guardian leads with the humanitarian convoy, starvation warnings for a few thousand people including about 50 children, and lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia. NBC credits Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV, adds Russian missile strikes on other cities, and cites residents who told Sky News they feared being blocked en route. BBC and Reuters broadly match, with BBC adding a four-hour departure window.