Russian soldiers accused of pressuring Ukrainians to flee to Russia during Oleshky evacuation

To Ukraine now, where the evacuation window for residents hoping to flee the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky has now closed. But it's not yet clear whether it will be extended. Around 1,000 residents, including 50 children, were expected to leave the city today, having been trapped since May with very limited supplies. But a ceasefire, agreed on Tuesday to allow humanitarian aid in, appears to be holding. The evacuation convoy consists of 25 buses, ambulances and other vehicles. The ceasefire was brokered by the Pope and US First Lady, Lady Melania Trump. She posted this on X in the last hour. 80 hours of ceasefire. Russian and Ukrainian humanitarian teams are on the ground in Oleshky, delivering aid and preparing the convoy for civilian evacuation. These coordinated operations are proceeding in full accordance with the agreements established between Ukraine and Russia. Ukrainian ombudsman has been meeting some of the people being evacuated from Oleshky this morning. They are seen here waiting for the bus to take them out of the city, which has been occupied by Russia since the earliest days of the invasion in 2022. Now let's listen to what he had to say a little earlier. Today's phase will lead us to jointly delivering humanitarian aid to Oleshky for all residents who remain there. And everyone who wishes to receive aid will receive it. This includes assistance for those who wish to leave Oleshky. We would like to emphasize in particular that we have agreed to assist citizens who want to go to Ukraine. They will be given this opportunity. Citizens who wish to go to the Russian Federation will also be provided with assistance. Earlier, Russian state TV released these pictures of a large convoy delivering humanitarian aid to the city. We also heard from the Russian Human Rights Commissioner. Today, a large column has been organized. A large convoy is formed today which will deliver humanitarian aid to the town of Oleshky. The humanitarian aid is based upon the people's needs and includes food, hygiene means, medicine, fuel, everything that meets people's needs. Thank Oleshky is located on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, opposite Kherson. It lies in an incredibly dangerous and difficult to monitor area. you The original aim of the ceasefire, to deliver food and medicine, very was quickly expanded to cover a wider area in the Kherson Oblast. Neither side has reported any violations. much. Residents have been told they have the option of being evacuated by bus. They're expected to travel from Oleshky through Russia and into Belarus before crossing back into Ukraine. But the routes could change at any moment. Our chief correspondent, Stuart Ramsey, reports now from Kherson. Well, the evacuation process in Oleshky is well underway. We've been in touch with residents throughout the day. They say that large numbers of coaches and ambulances and minivans arrived relatively early in the morning, just before dawn. People were told over the coming hours they were to gather and that they would be then boarded onto these various vehicles and then the convoy would set off. Many of the residents we've spoken to over the last few days have been very, very worried about the whole process and that worry has continued. They say that they were told there were going to be two queues. One that would take people to Russia to live and the other to take them through Russia and Belarus to come back to Ukraine. A number of the residents have said that Russian soldiers were to a degree coercing some to go into the stay in Russia line and there were messages between various groups. Telling people that they had to ask time and time again to the Russian soldiers and when they were on the buses they'd been assigned to that they were definitely going to Ukraine. They were saying that Russian soldiers had been lying to them and said yes that would be the bus that's going to Ukraine and in fact it was going to Russia. And I say that has been a continuous theme from those that we've been speaking to inside the city. We'd heard it before but they've reaffirmed it today that Russian military presence increased significantly. They say they saw a lot more soldiers, they saw a lot of equipment arriving, they saw military vehicles arriving. And many of them said it appeared that they were going to stay. They say that soldiers were going house to house looking for homes that had basements in them. The point being is the likelihood is that that is where their bases would be set up if they are to stay. And certainly that was the impression that the residents gave us. They also said that bodies from the hospital and the morgue were being removed. We know that around 30, maybe a bit more than 30, bodies have been in there. The residents in the past have told us that those were people who died as a result of fighting, as opposed to died of natural causes. Those bodies are being taken away now by the Russian forces. It's unlikely any investigation into their death is going to happen, is the impression that those residents gave. So the real focus of attention now is what happens over the coming hours, but then also in today's. The hope here is that those who want to come to Ukraine will get here successfully via Belarus. The exact timing for that isn't known, but everyone's got their fingers crossed that that is going to be successful and that those who wanted to come to Ukraine are actually able to get here.