Hundreds of Ukrainian civilians evacuated from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky crossed safely into government-held territory on Saturday, completing an arduous journey through Russia and Belarus under a rare localized cease-fire.
Arriving by bus in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region, the evacuees were greeted with tears, hand-drawn signs and bowls of hot food by waiting relatives and aid workers, the Associated Press reported. The rescue operation marked the end of years of severe deprivation in the southern Kherson region town, where essential services collapsed and food supplies dwindled following Moscow’s 2022 invasion.
A complex journey through conflict zones
The temporary truce in Oleshky took effect on Tuesday and was scheduled to run through Sunday evening, according to wire reports. White House officials said U.S. First Lady Melania Trump helped broker the agreement, while Pope Leo XIV also urged both nations to permit civilian evacuations and humanitarian relief.
On Friday afternoon, a convoy carrying evacuees left the town after roads were cleared of landmines. The route took residents across Russian-held territory—including the Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea port of Anapa—before four transport planes flew them to the southeastern Belarusian city of Gomel, Al Jazeera reported. From Belarus, half a dozen buses brought them across the Ukrainian border on Saturday.
Ukrainian officials had not released the exact total of arriving civilians, but humanitarian organizations including the Ukrainian Red Cross were preparing to assist roughly 500 people, according to Al Jazeera. The convoy vehicles were equipped to carry up to 750 individuals, the BBC reported. The oldest evacuee was 94 years old, the youngest barely one, and several household pets were also brought to safety.
Surviving isolation under occupation
Those who escaped described harrowing conditions inside Oleshky, which had an estimated prewar population of 24,000. Before the cease-fire, approximately 2,000 residents remained, enduring constant artillery fire, drone attacks and acute hunger.
“Since spring, there hasn’t really been any staple food left,” 48-year-old evacuee Ivan Yevhenovych told the Associated Press, recounting how drone activity made walking the streets deadly. Others described foraging for whatever canned goods remained in abandoned homes to survive.
Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets traveled directly to Oleshky alongside Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova on Friday to oversee the departures. Lubinets became the first senior Ukrainian official to enter Russian-controlled territory since the full-scale war began. Lantratova reported that some residents chose to relocate to Russian-controlled territory and were transported to temporary shelters in Simferopol.
War continues despite localized pause
The limited cease-fire in Oleshky did not halt violence elsewhere along the front lines. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that overnight Russian missile and drone barrages struck thermal plants, electrical substations and gas facilities, cutting power to more than 280,000 homes across the Kyiv and Dnipro regions.
In Russia, regional authorities in Bryansk reported that a Ukrainian drone strike killed two civilians and injured five others in the border settlement of Klimovo on Saturday, according to local officials cited by Al Jazeera.
Diplomatic discussions between Washington, Kyiv and Moscow are slated to resume in the coming weeks. Ukrainian officials said trilateral negotiations, which had been paused earlier this year amid broader regional conflict involving Iran, could restart during the first half of November in Abu Dhabi or Turkey. Whether the successful rescue corridor in Oleshky can serve as a template for future humanitarian agreements remains uncertain.
