Ukraine Reunites with Evacuees from Occupied Oleshky Under U.S.-Brokered Ceasefire

POLICY WIRE — Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities welcomed back hundreds of evacuees from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky on Saturday, following a temporary ceasefire brokered by the U.S. first lady, Melania Trump.

The civilians, who had been living under Russian control, traveled through Russia and Belarus before crossing into Ukrainian-held territory by bus and plane.

Oleshky, located in Ukraine’s southeastern Kherson region, has been under Russian occupation since the beginning of the conflict. The city has faced one of the most severe humanitarian crises, with the remaining 2,000 residents offered the option to relocate to Ukrainian- or Russian-held areas or stay with replenished supplies.

The ceasefire, which began at 3 a.m. on Tuesday and is set to last through Sunday evening, facilitated the evacuation. Those choosing to return to Ukraine were first taken to Anapa in Russia, then flown to Homel, Belarus, before continuing their journey home.

Ukrainian officials have imposed restrictions on disclosing the exact number of evacuees or the border crossing location to protect those who stayed in Oleshky and to secure future humanitarian efforts.

Relatives and aid workers greeted the evacuees at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. Aid tents, coffee stands, and provisions for pets were set up to support the returning families. Volunteers from organizations such as the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and the World Central Kitchen were on hand to assist.

Liza Paliy, 19, was among the families waiting anxiously. She had not seen her father for over two and a half years, since she and her mother and sister fled the occupied territory while he remained behind.

We thought it would be a month, two at most, and we would return, but unfortunately, two years have already passed, Paliy said, expressing her hope for a reunion.

Daria Pavlyn was also at the border, eagerly awaiting her father, Mykhailo, whom she had not heard from in about a month. Mykhailo had initially planned to flee after a nearby strike killed two neighbors but stayed to care for their home and animals.

We realized there was no other way, and he walked us to the road, and that was the last time we saw him, Pavlyn said. She added that her father had been hesitant to make the journey, especially without the necessary Russian documents.

While the exact number of evacuees was not specified by Russian or Ukrainian authorities, the U.S. first lady announced on social media that the humanitarian convoy had safely evacuated more than 750 people.

Besides Melania Trump, Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, also urged Russian and Ukrainian leaders to allow aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.

Despite the localized ceasefire, fighting continued in other areas. A Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s western Bryansk region killed two people, including a 30-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man, and injured five others, according to local Gov. Yegor Kovalchuk.

In the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, Ukrainian drone attacks reportedly caused a fire in the capital, Ufa, which is home to several oil refineries.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed to have shot down 433 Ukrainian drones overnight. Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Moscow launched drone attacks on energy and railway infrastructure across Ukraine, leaving 280,000 households in the Dnipro and Kyiv regions without power.

The attacks targeted combined heat and power plants in the Kyiv and Sumy regions, four electricity substations, and a gas distribution facility in the Dnipro region, as well as railway infrastructure in Dnipro and Kharkiv. Repair crews are working to restore power.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)