Civilians evacuate besieged Russian-held Oleshky as aid convoys arrive under Melania Trump ceasefire amid warnings the truce is cover for a major offensive
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.Civilians gathered in Oleshky, the Russian-occupied city where up to 6,000 people — including 200 children — survived for weeks on garden weeds and pigeons before Friday's evacuation convoy arrived.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, became the first Ukrainian official to set foot in Russian-occupied territory since the war began when he travelled to Oleshky on Friday alongside his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova to oversee the evacuation. The operation moved up to 750 residents out in a four-hour window aboard a convoy made up of 25 buses, ambulances and pet-carrier vehicles, with evacuees routed through Russia and Belarus before re-entering Ukraine via the Chernihiv region. The city had left up to 6,000 people — around 200 of them children — trapped for months without gas, electricity or running water.
Ukrainian soldiers warn the ceasefire is cover for a major Russian offensive against Kherson, expected to be launched once the truce ends on November 1st.
In place since Tuesday, the ceasefire was secured by Melania Trump on October 17th after the Pope called Putin from his hospital bed following lung cancer surgery.
Several hundred residents chose to remain in the devastated city despite the conditions, and Ukraine's prime minister later walked back an early figure of 527 expected returnees, saying the data was still changing.
