Truce in Oleshky allows aid after years of starvation — SkimNews

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- Oleshky residents have endured three years without electricity, gas, or water, with many surviving by eating garden weeds and facing extreme hunger under Russian occupation.
- Ukrainian and Russian officials confirmed a limited ceasefire is being observed, enabling humanitarian access to Oleshky, a city cut off by the Dnipro River and active front lines.
- Melania Trump secured the truce, according to the White House, marking her direct involvement in mediating the humanitarian mission between Kyiv and Moscow.
- Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, traveled to the region to coordinate the evacuation, working with Russia's human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova under U.S.-backed mediation.
- Up to 6,000 people, including 200 children, remain in Oleshky and surrounding areas, with only 1,700 still in the city, down from a prewar population of 24,000.
- Pope Leo XIV previously appealed to both Putin and Zelensky to allow aid and evacuation, highlighting the dire humanitarian crisis in the isolated city.
- Evacuation fears persist among residents, who worry about being taken to Russia, having phones searched for pro-Ukrainian activity, or facing renewed attacks during the operation.
Why it matters: Over 6,000 civilians in Oleshky face a perilous evacuation after years of deprivation, with the truce hinging on fragile U.S.-mediated coordination between Kyiv and Moscow—failure risks mass casualties, while success could set a precedent for future humanitarian corridors in war zones.
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