On Saturday, hungry and worn-out inhabitants of the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky crossed into Ukraine as part of a major civilian repatriation under the first humanitarian truce of its kind in over four years of conflict.
Ceasefire Negotiations and Complex Evacuation Route
The six-day local ceasefire in Oleshky was reached after mediation efforts by Melania Trump and with the Pope’s involvement. It marks the longest local pause in fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. To get back to territory controlled by Ukraine, people from Oleshky had to follow an intricate path, riding a bus through Crimea to the Russian town of Anapa, taking a flight to Belarus, and then proceeding onward to Ukraine via bus.
In Oleshky, Kherson region, temporarily occupied by Russia, people are facing a horrific humanitarian crisis. Reports say residents are searching for food scraps and collecting grass simply to survive.Russia is cutting off supplies of food, medicine and other basic necessities,… pic.twitter.com/BOcmPZVJzM
Footage distributed by the ombudsman of Ukraine captured numerous Oleshky locals gradually stepping off an aircraft at a Belarusian airfield. A significant portion of the crowd consisted of elderly individuals, some needed assistance to walk, and a small number were transported via wheelchairs or stretchers. They carried minimal luggage, while dogs were unloaded from the plane in cages.
Arrival in the Chernihiv Region
As several big buses crossed into Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region from Belarus, many evacuees were greeted by relatives. Medical transport vehicles lined the roadway alongside a series of erected large military tents supplying medical care, hot tea, and meals, accompanied by stacks of bottled water and pet food.
“As of now, Ukrainian citizens from Oleshky have crossed the Ukrainian border in the Chernihiv region. All of them will receive the assistance they need,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky, thanking the U.S. and Melania Trump for mediation. Ukrainian officials greeted the evacuees with posters bearing slogans like “You’re not alone” and “We embrace with our hearts.” One elderly woman said that they had escaped from hell as she exited a bus, before being greeted by another woman wrapped in Ukraine’s national blue and yellow flag as both cried.
“We have come a complicated way: from negotiations and agreeing on a ceasefire to delivering humanitarian aid directly to Oleshky and organising the evacuation of civilians,” said Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman.
Conditions in Oleshky
The ceasefire has been holding since Tuesday without violations, according to both Ukrainian and Russian officials. Roadways have been cleared of mines, allowing food, medications, and additional provisions to be transported into the municipality. Supply routes to Oleshky were previously disrupted by fighting and drones, and according to some residents, food deliveries were stopped in May, pushing hundreds of people into starvation.
The ceasefire is set to end on Sunday. Lacking specific figures on the total volume of returnees, Lubinets mentioned that the most senior returning individual reached 94 years of age, whereas the infant was just past one year old. Certain individuals chose to head toward Russia, whereas others opted to stay in Oleshky despite running water, electricity, and gas being absent. Oleshky had a pre-war population of about 24,000, and before the evacuation, an estimated 1,700 remained. The settlement has remained under Russian control since the invasion’s earliest days and suffered catastrophic damage following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in 2023 along with the subsequent inundation of surrounding districts.
Frontline Fighting and Upcoming Talks
Despite the ceasefire on the southern Kherson front, fighting raged on in other parts of the front. Both Russia and Ukraine also kept up their drone attacks on each other. Zelensky said that Russia attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure, hitting electricity substations, thermal power plants, and gas infrastructure, while Ukraine’s military reported hitting a major Russian producer of missile fuel in the Rostov region.
Vedomosti, a Russian publication, noted remarks from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicating that the Russian and Ukrainian ombudsmen maintained positive communication and gradually built mutual confidence through their collaborative efforts during the Oleshky truce. Nevertheless, the Kremlin asserted on Friday that this constituted a unique occurrence that could hardly be applied to the broader peace process. Following the suspension of talks in February after the outbreak of the war in Iran, delegates representing the United States, Russia, and Ukraine are scheduled to recommence negotiations in Abu Dhabi during the early days of November.
