Haggard Evacuees Reach Safety in Ukraine Under Melania-Brokered Ceasefire Deal

Haggard and hungry evacuees from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky were greeted by tearful relatives at Ukraine’s border with Belarus on Saturday, a day before the expiry of a six-day ceasefire brokered by the first lady, Melania Trump. In Kyiv, elation over the successful humanitarian mission was tempered by fears of a new Russian offensive in the area.Sky News described hundreds of flag-waving Ukrainians lining the road between the border crossing and the capital as columns of ambulances and buses passed with the evacuees, who been trapped without food or supplies for months in their southern Ukrainian city which was overrun by Russian forces at the beginning of the war. The exact number of evacuees was not disclosed for security reasons but the first lady had said earlier it could be as high as 750.At the border crossing, the Oleshky residents were greeted by emotionally overwhelmed relatives — some of whom had not seen their loved ones for two or more years — as well as volunteer groups with aid tents and coffee stands. Food was on hand for the house pets that many brought with them.Liza Paliy, 19, described her excitement at being reunited with her father, who had chosen to remain in their home when she and her mother escaped in 2024. “We thought at that time that it would be a month, two maximum, and we would return, but unfortunately, two years have already passed,” she told the Associated Press.Oleshky, which sits in Russian-occupied territory just 6 miles from the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson but on the other side of the Dniepro River, had seen its population shrink from 24,000 before the war to just 2,000 as of this week. But those who remained were trapped by landmines and unexploded ordnance along the only access roads and the river bank.Arriving evacuees told CNN that no food or supplies had reached the city since early summer, leaving the residents to survive on a diminishing supply of canned goods and garden vegetables. One woman said she had not had bread for more than a year and survived on mostly tomatoes and cucumbers.Another man, identified only as Oleksandr, said he felt as if he had escaped from Hell. “I didn’t go outside at all … where we were, where we lived, we couldn’t get any food. We just ate whatever people had left in their apartments — canned goods, pickles.”The first lady, who had previously intervened with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, to broker the return of dozens of Ukrainian children from Russia, became aware of the situation during a briefing from UN officials during the General Assembly meetings at New York in September, according to the White House.“The situation in Oleshky is dire,” the first lady said in a statement this week. “ Oleshky’s remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water. The people of Oleshky have limited electricity, live amid mined roads, and endure regular military attacks. It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible.”Pope Leo XIV threw his own weight behind the first lady’s diplomatic initiative, placing calls to Mr. Putin and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, even as he recovered from his recent cancer surgery, the Vatican said.Their combined efforts led to a six-day ceasefire in the area beginning Tuesday that allowed for military sappers to begin clearing a safe corridor through the heavily mined roadways. Dozens of ambulances and buses were then brought in to transport the residents, many of whom were aged or weak from malnutrition.Residents were permitted to choose whether to go to Ukraine, deeper into Russian territory, or to remain in their homes with a fresh supply of food. It was not disclosed how many chose each option, but the great majority are believed to have opted to go to Ukraine. Russian media outlets showed some civilians who chose that country arriving at a temporary accommodation site at Simferopol on the Russia-occupied peninsula of Crimea.Those who chose Ukraine were bused in a convoy to Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Anapa, from where they were flown in four aircraft to Gomel Airport in southeastern Belarus. From there they were carried in buses and ambulances to a joyful reunion with relatives at the Ukrainian border.Fears remain high for any who may have chosen to remain in Oleshky. Ukrainian media report that Russian forces are using the pause in fighting to move equipment and troops into the area and may be planning a new assault on Kherson as soon as the ceasefire expires on Sunday. The German newspaper Bild quotes a Ukrainian serviceman saying Russian KamAZ trucks are continuously transporting combat units while other forces are installing anti-drone nets in the region. The serviceman said Russian forces have also deployed Grad multiple-launch rocket systems in a nearby forest and are reinforcing shelters and cutting down trees there.

Haggard Evacuees Reach Safety in Ukraine Under Melania-Brokered Ceasefire Deal

Haggard Evacuees Reach Safety in Ukraine Under Melania-Brokered Ceasefire Deal

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