A humanitarian convoy carrying residents of Oleshky has reached Crimea, according to RTP. The Portuguese broadcaster reported on Friday that Ukraine and Russia agreed a temporary ceasefire to allow the mission to go ahead.
RTP said the operation had two aims: distributing aid and moving civilians out of the city, which is occupied by Russian forces. The report did not give figures for the number of people evacuated or the amount of assistance delivered.
Other outlets carried related accounts of the same operation. Folha de S.Paulo described it as a joint humanitarian effort by Russia and Ukraine to remove residents from the occupied city, while Estadão reported that Ukraine had begun a humanitarian evacuation of civilians in Oleshky. G1 reported that the departure of residents from the city, which it described as short of food, followed an appeal from the Pope to Vladimir Putin. Folha PE also reported that residents had started leaving Oleshky.
The reports point to a narrow, locally arranged arrangement rather than any broader break in the fighting. Details of how long the truce was meant to last, and who monitored it, were not provided in the material available.
What to watch next: whether further convoys are permitted into Oleshky, and whether the temporary arrangement is extended or ends once this evacuation is complete.
