First Civilian Evacuation Begins in Besieged Ukrainian City of Oleshky Amid Starvation Fears

On Friday, a joint relief operation began evacuating civilians from Oleshky, a Russian-held city in southern Ukraine's Kherson region, marking the first such effort in the war's four years and eight months. Oleshky sits across the Dnipro River from Ukrainian-held Kherson and has faced severe food and medical shortages for months, with warnings of starvation for the few thousand residents remaining, including about 50 children. A humanitarian convoy delivered food and medicine as part of the operation, offering a lifeline to those trapped by the conflict. The evacuation highlights the dire humanitarian crisis in occupied territories where access to basic necessities has been cut off. This breakthrough could pave the way for further relief efforts, but the city's future remains uncertain as the war grinds on.