Oleschky evacuees return to Ukraine through Belarus after rare truce

The evacuation began in Oleschky, a city in southern Ukraine under Russian occupation. Residents were evacuated on Friday, October 30, according to Il Post, before returning to Ukrainian-controlled territory the following day.

The Financial Times described a complex humanitarian mission that extracted hundreds of people during a rare local ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv. AP reported that US First Lady Melania Trump brokered the truce.

The route out did not take residents directly into Ukrainian-controlled territory. After their evacuation from Oleschky on October 30, they travelled through Belarus. ARD Tagesschau reported that military aircraft had taken them there before their return to Ukraine.

On Saturday, October 31, evacuees crossed into Ukrainian-held territory, AP reported. Their arrival marked the completion of the journey out of the occupied city through Belarus.

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the evacuated civilians had arrived in Ukraine, according to Il Post. DIE ZEIT, citing Zelensky, reported that they had reached Ukraine's Chernihiv via Belarus.

At the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, evacuees stepped off buses and reunited with family members, Global News reported. Some were wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags.

The residents covered by the reports are now back on Ukrainian-controlled territory. The reporting describes an evacuation of hundreds of people, not the evacuation of Oleschky's entire population.

The operation also brought competing accounts about the truce. ANSA reported that Moscow accused Kyiv of violating it, while Kyiv said it was respecting the ceasefire and accused Moscow of trying to discredit it. The supplied coverage does not resolve those claims or set out plans for another evacuation.