Evacuees From War-Ravaged Oleshky Cross Into Ukraine Following Landmark Ceasefire
Four evacuation planes landed in the Belarusian city of Homiel (Gomel) on Saturday, carrying the final wave of residents out of the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky. The operation marked the conclusion of a complex transit route that brought civilians across front lines in a region starved of basic provisions for months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed via social media on Saturday that the citizens had officially crossed the Ukrainian border, noting that all arrivals would receive necessary government assistance.
The rescue mission unfolded under a rare regional truce negotiated last week. According to the White House, United States First Lady Melania Trump helped broker the agreement, working directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership. The ceasefire, which began at 3 a.m. Tuesday in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, is expected to continue through Sunday evening, providing a narrow window for evacuations and humanitarian aid delivery.
Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has confirmed the exact total of individuals evacuated from the devastated city. Convoys of buses initially transported residents from Oleshky to the Russian city of Anapa before they boarded flights to Homiel, Belarus, where rescue workers, medical teams, and Red Cross volunteers met them.
A humanitarian operation to rescue people in Oleshky, in the Kherson region, has taken place. A ceasefire was established in the Kherson sector, during which roads to Oleshky were cleared of mines and humanitarian aid was delivered. We hope humanitarian access to Oleshky will… pic.twitter.com/HTIqiMLqLs
Humanitarian Toll and the Strained Reality in Occupied Kherson
The city of Oleshky, situated along the Dnipro River, has endured severe food and medicine shortages since falling under continuous Russian occupation in April 2022. Roughly 2,000 residents remained in the heavily destroyed urban center prior to the truce, contending with a complete lack of electricity, heat, or running water amid mined access roads and persistent drone activity.
Prior to the launch of the evacuation, coordinators gave those still in town the option to head toward areas controlled by either Ukraine or Russia, or to stay behind with a fresh supply of medical goods and food.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian citizens from Oleshky had crossed the Ukrainian border in the Chernihiv region, stating that all of them would receive the assistance they needed and thanking the American side and US First Lady Melania Trump for their mediation.
Family members gathered at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border on Saturday amidst tense and emotional scenes, accompanied by coffee counters, humanitarian tents, and supplies intended for the pets that evacuees had brought along. Among the individuals waiting was 19-year-old Liza Paliy; her mother, sister, and she had escaped the occupied region over 2 1/2 years ago, leaving her father behind.
Ongoing Fighting and Escalated Air Defense Demands
Even as the localized truce held in the Kherson region, military engagements continued unabated across other parts of the country. The governor of Russia’s Bryansk region reported that a Ukrainian drone strike killed two people and injured five in the settlement of Klimovo on Saturday. At the same time, President Zelenskyy reported that Russian overnight bombardments targeted Ukrainian railway infrastructure, gas distribution facilities, and power plants, cutting off electricity to upwards of 200,000 households in the Dnipro area and an additional 80,000 homes in the Kyiv region.
The attacks prompted renewed urgency from Kyiv regarding air defense capabilities. The Trump administration said it had approved a proposed $2.1 billion sale of Patriot air defense interceptors, following Kyiv’s accusations that the Pentagon was delaying deliveries of the munition. President Zelenskyy welcomed the US approval of Kyiv’s purchase of 500 PAC-3 Patriot interceptors, but warned that equipment could take years to deliver. He made a plea for international partners to immediately dispatch available interceptors from their storage facilities to protect Ukraine throughout the 2026-2027 winter, noting that these allies could later restock their inventories via manufacturing agreements already finalized and financed.
⚡️ Russia's Ombudswoman #Lantratova: Our mission in #Alyoshki has concluded. Aid delivered. Residents could freely choose to go Russia or Ukraine.❗️ I propose making such missions a regular practice, coordinated by @FLOTUS, & thank her for the help.https://t.co/tFLAV9Sv4Z pic.twitter.com/6RSKdFon4Y
More on Oleshky
💬 Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner #Lantratova:We’ve arrived in #Alyoshki with dozens of tonnes of aid: food, hygiene supplies & generator fuel – what residents asked for.For those who decide to stay, this is vital. This is their home. They have loved ones to care for. pic.twitter.com/iIMTItryCP
🇺🇦 🇷🇺 Evacuation day in Oleshky: buses roll out of a Russian-occupied town under Melania Trump's truce, but the road home to Ukraine runs through Russia and BelarusThe first residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky left the town on Friday under the localized ceasefire brokered by…
