Planes carrying civilians are evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky land in Belarus on their way home to Ukraine under Melania Trump's truce
Residents of Oleshky meet a Ukrainian delegation, as evacuees face a gruelling onward route through Russian-occupied territory to Anapa, then by plane to Gomel in Belarus, before crossing into Ukraine's Chernihiv region.Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's ombudsman, with Russian Aerospace Forces personnel in Gomel, Belarus, after both commissioners jointly asked Melania Trump to lead further regular humanitarian missions once the evacuation…
Civilians evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky under Melania Trump's six-day Kherson ceasefire touched down in Belarus on Saturday after a 1,000-mile detour through Russia. Ukrainian lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia confirmed four planes had landed and that passengers would cross into Ukrainian territory within hours. Residents who had gone five months without power, gas or running water — some reduced to eating grass and weeds — had a four-hour window in which to board 25 buses and nine ambulances. Both sides' human rights commissioners jointly urged Melania Trump to make such missions a regular occurrence.
Ukrainian soldiers are warning the ceasefire may be cover for a Russian offensive, with drone footage reportedly showing mass military movement near Kherson ahead of the truce's expiry on 1 November.
Those choosing to leave were offered three options: travel to Ukrainian territory, settle in Russia, or remain in Oleshky with fresh food and medical supplies brought in for the purpose.
Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets became the first Ukrainian official to enter Russian-occupied territory since February 2022, and was filmed embracing a tearful elderly woman.
