People living in the besieged Russian-held city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine were evacuated on Friday as part of a joint relief operation, the first of its kind in four years and eight months of war.

The city, which lies on the Russian-occupied side of the Dnipro River, opposite Kherson, has suffered months of serious food and medical shortages, leading to warnings of starvation for the few thousand people remaining there, including about 50 children.

The humanitarian convoy, including 25 buses and ambulances, had arrived in the city to deliver food and medicine and evacuate those wishing to leave for Russia or Ukraine.

The localised ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region allowed for the roads out of Oleshky to be de-mined, making evacuation possible.

Russian military personnel pass by damaged vehicles during a de-mining operation near Oleshky.…