Ukrainians evacuated from the devastated Russian-occupied city of Oleshky have finally set foot on home soil after US First Lady Melania Trump brokered a humanitarian ceasefire.
Evacuees wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags stepped off buses at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border where they were reunited with family members.
Volunteers with hand-drawn welcome signs handed out coffee to the weary travellers, who had travelled by bus and plane through Russia and Belarus to avoid the deadly front line.
Residents of nearby villages lined the highway to greet the convoy waving flags and flashlights.
The evacuation was carried out under the most significant truce since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago.
The White House announced on October 23 that the First Lady had persuaded both countries to ‘temporarily stop all military action’ to allow the safe passage of civilians.
‘The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,’ Melania said in a statement.
Tetiana Leonidivna, 71, thanked the Ukrainian soldiers who helped her escape Oleshky.
Residents of Oleshky react after being evacuated from their Russian-occupied hometown as they cross the Belarus-Ukraine border in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine
Ukrainian serviceman Dmytro welcomes back his partner Larysa as evacuees from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky,
‘We love them, we love them,’ she said through tears. ‘We know that they are protecting us. And a deep bow to them, and a deep bow to their parents, for having such children. I am proud, I am simply proud.’
The ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region was expected to continue through Sunday evening.
Pope Leo XIV also pressed Russian and Ukrainian leaders to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.
Relatives and volunteers with the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and World Central Kitchen welcomed the evacuees as they arrived at the border, ready to provide aid and food, including for their pets.
Holding a cigarette between shaking fingers, 48-year-old Ivan Yevhenovych described his last few months in Oleshky.
‘It was very difficult. There were a lot of drones; it was hard to move around the streets,’ he said. ‘Since spring, there hasn’t really been any staple food left. People had a little bit of their own reserves. We are thrifty people.’
He said people were being killed by landmines or drone strikes every day.
An estimated 2,000 people were still living in Oleshky when the temporary truce took hold. They were offered the choice of being evacuated to Ukrainian- or Russian-held territory, or remaining in the city with replenished food and medical supplies.
‘Many people stayed behind and didn’t want to leave,’ Mr Yevhenovych said. ‘Some for their houses, some for their animals.’
Ukrainian authorities, seeking to protect those who remained and safeguard future humanitarian missions, have not said how many residents evacuated Oleshky and have restricted details of their route.
The evacuation was carried out under the most significant truce since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago
Iryna is interviewed by the media as she awaits the arrival of her uncle
Evacuees wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags stepped off buses at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border where they were reunited with family members
It is likely that the evacuees travelled through Russian-controlled Crimea before going deeper into the mainland before entering Belarus in the north and then back down to home soil in Ukraine.
Melania Trump posted on social media Friday that the humanitarian convoy could safely evacuate more than 750 people.
Liza Paliy, 19, waited at the border for her father, whom she last saw more than two years earlier when she fled the occupied city with her mother and sister.
‘We thought at that time that it would be a month, two maximum, and we would return, but unfortunately, two years have already passed,’ she said.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, hailed the success of the humanitarian mission.
‘This is an extremely important moment. Behind us are difficult negotiations, agreements, preparations, and an enormous amount of work. But most importantly, the people who waited so long to be rescued are finally safe,’ he said in an online post.
Mr Lubinets said evacuees ranged in age from just over a year old to 94, and they brought pets, including dogs, cats, a parrot and a raccoon. He said he hoped the Oleshky truce can be replicated elsewhere.
‘This experience could form the basis of a new mechanism for responding to the most difficult humanitarian crises – one that always puts people, their safety, and their right to life at its center,’ he said.
Some Oleshky evacuees who chose to move to Russian-occupied territory have been taken to a temporary shelter in Simferopol, said Yana Lantratova, Russia’s human rights commissioner. The city is in Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Residents and their cat evacuated from the Russian-controlled city of Oleshky
Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets (C) poses for a group photo with evacuees
Ukrainian serviceman Dmytro embraces his wife Larysa
‘After everything they have endured and a long journey, it is essential for these people to rest, recover, and feel cared for. However, support should not be limited to just a roof over their heads and a hot meal,’ she said in a social media post.
‘There are many challenges ahead: replacing lost documents, medical treatment, arranging long-term housing, and reconnecting with family members. My office will assist in addressing these issues.’
Meanwhile, Donald Trump approved the sale of 500 vital mobile interceptor surface-to-air (SAM) missile systems after Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with Western leaders to speed up deliveries.
However the Ukrainian President warned it could take years before they arrive despite being ‘very persistent’ in pressing Mr Trump to provide him with more Patriot missiles.
The US State Department has said the deal for the advanced PAC-3 interceptor systems will cost $2.1billion (£1.6billion) but would be ‘funded entirely’ by Canada and Europe.
Mr Zelensky praised the ‘strong decision’, adding that he was ‘grateful’, but said the deal ‘stipulates deliveries may begin only in a few years’.
Volunteers with hand-drawn welcome signs handed out coffee to the weary travelers, who had traveled by bus and plane through Russia and Belarus to avoid the deadly front line
Family members reunite as a man wrapped in a Ukrainian flag arrives as one of the evacuees
He said he had asked Washington to provide a ‘winter support package’ of 100 Patriot interceptors per month as Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure continue ‘every single day’ and that 500 missiles ‘would be enough to protect our skies’.
Zelensky said Moscow launched drone attacks on energy and railway infrastructure across Ukraine overnight, leaving 280,000 households in Dnipro and Kyiv regions without power.
The attacks targeted combined heat and power plants in Kyiv and Sumy regions, four electricity substations and a gas distribution facility in the Dnipro region and railway infrastructure in Dnipro and Kharkiv, he said, adding that repair crews were working to restore power.
Zelenskyy urged partners to impose further sanctions on Russia and provide new support packages to Ukraine.
‘The world sees Russia targeting civilian infrastructure every day. Everyone who does not want to see this Russian escalation spread further into Europe must help Ukraine,’ he said in an online post.
