Evacuation logistics: 750 residents of Oleshky return via Belarus
A four-hour window in a US-brokered ceasefire allowed a convoy of 25 buses to extract civilians from the occupied city before planes transported them to the Ukrainian border.
By Layla Richardson ·
A convoy of 25 buses, with capacity for 750 people, departed the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky on Friday afternoon to transport residents to safety.
The evacuation concluded on Saturday morning when the final aircraft landed in Gomel, Belarus. David Arakhamia, a senior Ukrainian official, confirmed that all evacuated citizens and the accompanying delegation would reach Ukrainian territory within hours of the landing. State-owned Belarusian media reported that a bus convoy left Gomel airport immediately after the flights arrived, heading toward the Ukrainian border.
The operation relied on a humanitarian ceasefire that took effect in the Kherson region on Tuesday. This arrangement provided the first period of stability in the area in four years, following Russia's invasion in 2022. The ceasefire, which remains in place until the end of Sunday, November 1, facilitated the demining of the road out of Oleshky. Residents had a strict four-hour window to depart before the convoy, which also included ambulances for individuals with limited mobility, began its journey.
The route required evacuees to travel through Russian-occupied territory to the southern Russian city of Anapa. From there, planes carried the group to Gomel. Ukrainian military positions are located approximately 5 kilometers from Oleshky, yet the complex logistics of the evacuation necessitated a transit path through enemy-controlled zones. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets noted that those who chose to remain in the city would receive necessary humanitarian assistance.
Lubinets traveled to Oleshky on Friday alongside his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova. The two officials departed from Armiansk on the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula. Lubinets marked the first Ukrainian official visit to occupied territories since the war began. He stated that the close cooperation with Lantratova was conducted to save lives, though some in Ukraine expressed discomfort at the pairing. Russia announced on Thursday that it had prepared dozens of tonnes of aid, including food, medicine, hygiene products, and generator fuel, for the several hundred residents who decided to stay in the city despite widespread devastation and utility failures.
