A ceasefire in the Russian-occupied front-line town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region has continued to hold since taking effect earlier this week.
This is the situation as preparations continue to evacuate civilians and deliver food and medicine.
Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova said on Thursday that efforts to clear and defuse mines were progressing successfully, paving the way for a safe humanitarian corridor.
“At the same time, we are already putting together the humanitarian aid shipment that we plan to bring to Oleshky tomorrow,” Lubinets said, adding that he would travel to the town himself.
The representatives of the two warring sides are coordinating closely on the operation.
"The ceasefire has now held for 54 hours. Both sides are fulfilling their obligations,” Lantratova said, adding that no violations had been reported.
Residents of Oleshky are expected to leave the town through a humanitarian corridor on Saturday.
Those wishing to travel to Ukrainian-controlled territory are to be taken first to the Russian Black Sea city of Anapa before being flown to Gomel in Belarus, from where they can continue their journey to Ukraine.
Residents who choose to remain in the town, which has been cut off for months and is suffering from severe shortages, are to receive food and medical supplies.
Lubinets and Lantratova again thanked U.S. first lady Melania Trump for her personal involvement in helping to mediate the ceasefire, which went into effect on Tuesday.
Pope Leo XIV had also pushed for the humanitarian truce during telephone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 people, including dozens of children, remain in Oleshky, which had a pre-war population of around 24,000.
The operation is the largest joint undertaking by Ukraine and Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
While the two sides have repeatedly exchanged prisoners of war and repatriated the bodies of fallen soldiers, they have not previously carried out a joint humanitarian operation for civilians on this scale involving a ceasefire lasting several days.
The ceasefire is scheduled to remain in effect until Sunday evening.
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