Hundreds of starving residents from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky arrived in Ukrainian-held territory on Saturday after a rare ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump.
The evacuees, some draped in Ukrainian flags, disembarked from buses in the Chernihiv region near the Belarus border, where they were met with emotional reunions with family members. Oleshky, captured by Russia in 2022, had been cut off by fighting, leaving residents without food, water, or medicine for months. Some reported eating grass or hunting dogs to survive. "There was no bread. Nothing. The shops weren’t open," one evacuee, Valera, told AFP .
The six-day truce, limited to the Kherson region, began on Tuesday and allowed joint Ukrainian and Russian aid deliveries to the city on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the evacuees’ arrival and thanked Trump for her mediation, stating they would "receive the assistance they need" . Around 2,000 residents remained in Oleshky before the operation, down from 24,000 before the invasion.
Evacuees traveled a circuitous route via Crimea, Russia, and Belarus to reach safety. Ambulances and aid workers greeted them at the border, where some received immediate medical care. The youngest evacuee was just over one year old, the oldest 94 .
Trump called the mission a source of hope for lasting peace, writing on X that "Oleshky proves that we can rise above war for the sake of humanity" . Ukrainian and Russian human rights officials said they would continue similar humanitarian efforts. The truce is set to expire on Sunday evening.
