Ukrainian evacuees reunite with family after years trapped in Russia-occupied city

The ceasefire allowed the road out of the city to be cleared of mines and humanitarian aid to be delivered.

Ceasefire measures will remain in place until the end of Sunday 1 November.

Residents had a four-hour window to leave before a convoy of 25 buses, with space for 750 people, left the town on Friday afternoon - along with ambulances for people with limited mobility.

Several hundred people are understood to have decided to stay in the war-torn city, despite widespread devastation and the lack of gas, electricity and running water.

Some of the older generation did not want to leave, one relative told the BBC.