Oleshky sits on the Russian-occupied side of the Dnipro River, opposite Kherson. Months of serious food and medical shortages have brought warnings of starvation for the few thousand people left, including about 50 children.
A humanitarian convoy of 25 buses and ambulances arrived with food and medicine and offered rides to anyone who wants to leave for Russia or Ukraine. A localised ceasefire in the Kherson region made it possible to de-mine the roads out. Kyiv's delegation reached the city late Friday morning, and social media footage showed tearful residents embracing delegation members in heavy rain as they waited for the main convoy.
Davyd Arakhamia, a lawmaker with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party and a member of the delegation, confirmed some evacuees were travelling to Anapa. "From there, they will fly by plane to Belarus, and then travel by bus to their homes," he said.
Earlier reports suggested more than 500 people wanted to move to Ukrainian territory, but it was unclear how many travelled in the convoy. Several hundred people, mainly older residents, have chosen to stay.
Ukrainian territory lies just 3 miles from Oleshky, yet the way there runs through Russia and Belarus.