Oleshky evacuees head home via Anapa and Belarus

The convoy sets off

A Ukrainian delegation and evacuated residents of occupied Oleshky in Kherson region have set off for Anapa, said David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction. “From there they will fly to Belarus and then travel home by bus,” he wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine’s parliamentary human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets, who is personally coordinating the mission, confirmed: “Those who wished to leave for Ukraine have been able to leave Oleshky and are now on the way. Humanitarian aid has been delivered. The convoys have split — I am going to Ukraine.” He said the ceasefire had lasted 87 hours with no violations recorded.

The number of people who left has not yet been officially disclosed.

A route through Russia and Belarus

According to DW, the evacuees were to fly from Vityazevo airport near Anapa to Gomel in Belarus and then travel by bus to the Ukrainian border. The outlet suggested the Nova Huta checkpoint might be used for the crossing, but this has not been officially confirmed. Lubinets stressed that the work is being carried out “in line with agreements reached with Russia’s human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova, with the assistance and coordination of US First Lady Melania Trump.”

Not everyone wants to leave

Speaking on television, Lubinets said a very large amount of humanitarian aid had been delivered to Oleshky. “Today people even came up to us saying they want to stay here. There are such people. The humanitarian aid is meant to support them,” he said.

He explained how departures were organised. Numerous bus services were arranged both for those travelling to Ukraine and for those who wanted to go to Russia. People handed in large suitcases for separate transport and received tags. “Staff from both our offices work on every bus… and check that there is enough space for everyone and that there are no obstacles,” Lubinets said.

Ceasefire until Sunday

The local ceasefire announced by US First Lady Melania Trump applies only to occupied Oleshky. According to the White House, the sides agreed to temporarily halt all hostilities in the town to allow humanitarian deliveries and prepare the evacuation of civilians through an agreed safe corridor. The truce runs from 27 October until 22:59 on Sunday, 1 November.

Oleshky, on the left bank of the Dnipro, has been under occupation since 2022. For years the town suffered from shelling and shortages of water, food and medicine, and leaving was practically impossible for civilians.

Lubinets’s proposal

After the first stage of the mission, Lubinets proposed making humanitarian operations coordinated by Melania Trump a regular practice. “The experience of Oleshky and joint work with Russia’s human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova has shown that such arrangements make it possible to genuinely help people,” he wrote. In his view, such steps can not only save specific people but also create preconditions for talks on a lasting peace. He also thanked President Zelensky and the Defence Forces for supporting the mission.

What next

The coming hours should show when the evacuees cross the border and where they will be received in Ukraine. The ceasefire in Oleshky ends on Sunday evening.