Oleshky evacuees return to Ukraine under Melania’s ceasefire
- On Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, hundreds of residents evacuated Russian-occupied Oleshky, crossing into Ukraine after traveling by bus through Crimea and Russia, then flying to Belarus before reaching the border.
- The localized truce began Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, brokered by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV, marking the longest pause in fighting since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.
- Evacuees traveled by bus to Anapa, Russia, then flew to Gomel, Belarus, where Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, personally escorted residents throughout the multi-leg journey to the border.
- Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders volunteers provided medical aid at the border reception, with many elderly evacuees arriving on stretchers or in wheelchairs requiring immediate care.
- Lubinets and Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova agreed to continue similar humanitarian missions, potentially establishing a framework for addressing crises elsewhere along the front line.
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415 Articles
‘Historic’ is how Russian journalists in exile describe the evacuation of some 700 to 900 civilians from the affected Olesjky. But...
Hundreds of people took advantage of the ceasefire in Oleshky to leave the occupied area, where resources were scarce. With the initiative came the hope of new steps towards peace, but political scientist Pavel Baev considers this to be a special case. More than a general appeasement, he understands that other specific agreements may arise.
The truce, described as the longest ceasefire period agreed upon by both sides since the beginning of the conflict in 2022, has required prior demining of the accesses to the town.
Melania Trump Earns Praise From Zelensky For Ukraine Rescue As Husband Donald Continues To Draw Attention With Natalie Harp
Melania Trump has received public praise from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after helping secure a temporary ceasefire that allowed civilians […]
Evacuees from Ukrainian city tell stories of survival amid Russians
A rasping scream rang out as a teenager recognized her father. He was one of the hundreds of people who had escaped: years of Russian occupation, months of hunger under a deadly drone war, and then a truce backed by a first lady and the pope, and an odyssey back to their loved ones.
The evacuation was made possible by the first humanitarian ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in over four years.
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