Russia and Ukraine coordinate joint relief operation to aid Oleshky residents

Russia and Ukraine coordinated a rare joint relief operation to deliver food, medical supplies and fuel to residents of the occupied town of Oleshky, and set up the option for civilians to evacuate if they wish, officials from both sides said.

The mission was made possible by a temporary ceasefire negotiated with the involvement of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, and marks a conspicuous example of cooperation between two countries that have been at war for four years and eight months while continuing to fight elsewhere.

Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova and her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets stood side by side at a press briefing to describe the operation.

“The aid was assembled based on the specific needs reported to us and includes food, hygiene products, basic medical supplies and fuel,” Lantratova said.

Lubinets added that assistance and safe movement would be available to anyone who requests it. “We have reached an agreement to help citizens who wish to travel to Ukraine; they will be given the opportunity to do so. The same applies to those who want to go to the Russian Federation,” he said.

Damage, flooding and demining

Oleshky, located on the Dnipro River opposite Kherson, was seized by Russian forces in the first days of the invasion. The town is now largely destroyed and suffered severe flooding after the Kakhovka dam was blown up in 2023.

Residents have described risking travel along mined roads just to fetch food and water, with some saying they survived on a cup of rice or buckwheat a day and foraged wild plants. Local demining operations preceded the arrival of the relief convoy this week, and officials said 25 buses were prepared to evacuate people and their pets.

Photo: ministerstvo za odbrana na Rusija)