Hundreds of civilians left the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky on Friday under a localized ceasefire that Ukrainian and Russian officials said held long enough for an evacuation, BBC and CBS News reported^1,2.

Oleshky, in Ukraine’s Kherson region, has been occupied since the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion and has faced shortages of food, water and medicine^1,2. A temporary truce brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump was described as covering the front-line Kherson area from about Oct. 28 through Nov. 1^1,2.

Russia’s human rights ombudsman, Yana Lantratova, said the operation unfolded without incidents¹. Ukraine’s ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said anyone who wished to leave would be able to do so safely and that those who stayed would receive humanitarian aid^1,2.

BBC reported that evacuees were to travel first into Russian-held territory and to Anapa in southern Russia, then fly to Gomel in Belarus and enter Ukraine in Chernihiv region¹. CBS said the convoy included about 25 buses and that local authorities put the remaining population at about 2,000².

Lubinets traveled into occupied territory with his Russian counterpart, a first for a Ukrainian official since the war began, BBC said¹. Some residents chose to stay, including over animals that would not be taken, according to an Oleshky resident who spoke to BBC¹.

CBS said fighting continued elsewhere during the local truce, including a strike on a passenger train station in Dnipro and attacks on Kyiv’s energy grid². The Kremlin said the Oleshky pause should not be read as willingness to extend a truce nationwide, BBC reported¹. What remains unknown is how many people ultimately left, how many stayed, and whether the ceasefire will hold through its stated end date^1,2.