4 Planes With Oleshky Evacuees Land in Belarus En Route to Kyiv

Four aircraft carrying Ukrainian civilians evacuated from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky have landed in Belarus and are preparing to cross into Ukraine by bus within hours, parliamentary faction leader David Arakhamia announced on Saturday, Oct. 31. The airlift represents the transit phase of a complex humanitarian corridor negotiated under a US-mediated localized ceasefire, allowing residents who chose to return to government-controlled territory to bypass heavily contested frontline sectors along the Dnipro River.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “The last, fourth plane has touched down in Gomel, Belarus,” Arakhamia stated on social media. “In just a few hours, all citizens of Ukraine evacuated from Oleshky, together with the Ukrainian delegation, will be on the territory of Ukraine.” The evacuated civilians and accompanying officials traveled overland by bus from Oleshky through Russian-occupied Crimea to the Russian Black Sea port city of Anapa, where they boarded charter flights to Gomel before commencing the final overland coach transfer across the border into Ukraine. Multistage evacuation in Oleshky The civilian extraction followed the arrival of an official Ukrainian humanitarian delegation in Oleshky on Friday, Oct. 30, led by Ukraine’s Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets and accompanied by international journalists. The mission was executed in coordination with Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova following weeks of technical preparations and de-mining operations along approach corridors. Other Topics of Interest Russia Strikes Kharkiv With Jet-Powered Shahed Drone, Injuring 3, Damaging 10 Homes The latest attack sparked a fire in a residential district, following an earlier strike on a shopping mall that injured four people. A designated humanitarian fleet comprising 25 buses with a collective capacity of 750 passengers, alongside specialized ambulances equipped for individuals with limited mobility, deployed into the ruined left-bank municipality. Evacuation gathering points were established around the town’s central hospital, prioritizing elderly residents, individuals with disabilities, and families with children, while allowing evacuees to bring household pets. Substantial food packages, infant nutrition, and essential pharmaceuticals were simultaneously distributed to residents who opted to remain in the municipality. Upon departing Oleshky, the evacuation convoys split based on destination preferences, with one contingent heading toward government-controlled Ukraine via the Anapa-Gomel air bridge and another group of evacuees traveling deeper into Russian territory. 87 hours of compliance under US-mediated armistice The successful evacuation took place under a localized silence regime that has held without kinetic breaches, marking a rare operational pause along the southern front. “The ceasefire has now lasted 87 hours,” Lubinets reported on Friday evening as the overland convoy crossed into Crimea. “No violations have been recorded.” The localized cessation of hostilities officially took effect at 3:00 a.m. Kyiv time on Tuesday, Oct. 27, two days ahead of initial projections, following direct diplomatic mediation coordinated by US First Lady Melania Trump. According to Ukrainian officials, the armistice across the designated sector is scheduled to remain in effect until 10:59 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1. Under the negotiated terms, Ukrainian and Russian military commands committed to suspending combat aviation, drone interdiction, artillery fire, and offensive maneuvers across the Oleshky pocket and surrounding transport routes in Kherson region to enable de-mining teams to clear primary roadways and ensure safe transit for aid convoys. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.