Oleshky evacuees reunite with families in Ukraine after truce

Evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky, in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, reunited with their families on Saturday at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. The rescue operation began on Friday under the most significant truce since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine four and a half years ago. Ukraine's ombudsman has said the arrangement could serve as a model for other humanitarian crises.

Welcome at the border

People wrapped in Ukrainian flags stepped off buses. Volunteers greeted them with hand-drawn signs and coffee. The evacuees had travelled by bus and plane through Russia and Belarus. Aid and food, including for pets, were prepared by the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières and World Central Kitchen.

The ceasefire in Kherson region began early on Tuesday and was expected to last until Sunday evening. The White House said US first lady Melania Trump helped broker the localised deal, while Pope Leo XIV urged Russia and Ukraine to allow aid deliveries and evacuations.

Life in Oleshky

About 2,000 people remained in the city when the truce began. They could choose evacuation to Ukrainian- or Russian-held territory, or stay with restocked food and medical supplies. Ivan Yevhenovych, 48, said there were many drones, that staple food had largely run out since spring, and that mines or drone strikes killed residents daily.

Ukrainian authorities have not disclosed how many people left or the route taken. Melania Trump wrote on social media that the convoy could safely evacuate more than 750 people. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said evacuees ranged from just over one year old to 94, and brought dogs, cats, a parrot and a raccoon. He hoped the truce could be replicated elsewhere.

Russia's human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, said both sides agreed to hold regular humanitarian missions in and around Oleshky; Lubinets did not mention this. Some evacuees who chose Russian-held territory were taken to a temporary shelter in Simferopol, in Crimea.

Fighting continues

A Ukrainian drone attack killed a 30-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man in Russia's Bryansk region, with five wounded, according to its governor. Russia's defence ministry said it shot down 433 Ukrainian drones overnight. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian drone strikes on energy and railway infrastructure left 280,000 households in Dnipro and Kyiv regions without power.