Russia may demine the roads in the occupied Oleshki in such a way that the residents are directed towards its territory, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He made the comment in an interview with TSN television, quoted by “Ukrainian Truth“.
“Russia will certainly do everything to demine the roads so that these people go towards Russia and stay there“, Zelensky said.
Evacuation remains the main goal
According to the Ukrainian president, Moscow is unlikely to agree to simply release the residents of the city. He indicated that some of the people will still be evacuated to territories under Ukrainian control.
Oleshki is located in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region. Ukrainian authorities claim that the city is isolated, and the mining of roads makes it difficult to deliver humanitarian aid and evacuate civilians.
Regimen of silence from October 27
Ukraine and Russia have declared a ceasefire for the conduct of a humanitarian operation in the Oleshki region. The Ukrainian side has indicated a start at 03:00 on October 27, Kiev time. Russia has declared a ceasefire from 04:00 Moscow time on the same day. The aim is to deliver food, water and medicine and to organize the evacuation of civilians.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubynets confirmed the preparation of the operation and called on the relatives of people who are in Oleshki and need help to submit information to his office.
Earlier, the White House announced an agreement between Russia and Ukraine on a local ceasefire with the mediation of US First Lady Melania Trump. In subsequent statements from the Ukrainian and Russian sides, the start of the regime was indicated for October 27, while the initial information from the White House linked the operation to October 29.
Sources: pravda.com.ua, ru.interfax.com.ua