The evacuation of Oleshky, a Ukrainian city under Russian occupation, is under way, confirmed by Russian and Ukrainian authorities, with a convoy of 25 buses allowing up to 750 people to leave until 14:00 local time (12:00 GMT), along with ambulances for people with limited mobility.

Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, traveled to the city together on Friday to follow the operation, the BBC reported. An aid convoy entered the Russian-held town, in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, after weeks of efforts to organize a relief operation for residents, Al Jazeera reported.