Hundreds of residents evacuated from Russian-occupied city of Oleshky during humanitarian ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump

Hundreds of residents have been evacuated from the devastated Russian-occupied city of Oleshky after US First Lady Melania Trump brokered a humanitarian ceasefire, authorities on both sides have said.Evacuees were taken out of the city in the Kherson region and were heading to southern Russia before travelling through Belarus to reach Ukrainian-held territory.Russia's human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova said: 'Everything unfolded without any incidents, and both sides noted the high level of organisation.'Ukrainian authorities confirmed the evacuees were on their way to southern Russia, from where they would travel on to Ukraine through Belarus.Melania Trump said that 'all elements of the convoy, including the safe passageway in and out of Oleshky, were established through mutual agreement between Russian and Ukrainian leaders'.Speaking to journalists on Friday evening, Lantratova issued a joint request with her Ukrainian counterpart 'to the US First Lady... that humanitarian missions such as this one, delivering aid to residents in need, be conducted on a regular basis under the coordination of Mrs Melania Trump'.The White House announced on October 23 that the First Lady had persuaded both countries to 'temporarily stop all military action' to allow the safe passage of civilians.'The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,' Melania said in a statement. Hundreds of residents have been evacuated from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky after US First Lady Melania Trump brokered a humanitarian ceasefire, authorities on both sides have said. Pictured: A humanitarian convoy carrying residents evacuated from the Oleshky Communal workers walk next to the Kherson Regional State Administration building, which was destroyed in previous Russian air attacks US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump hand out candy to trick-or-treaters during Halloween at the White House at the South Portico of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 29 October 2026'Oleshky's remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food and clean water.'Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destination,' she continued. 'I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine.'Residents from Oleshky began the long journey out of the war-ravaged region in bus convoys on Friday, on the fourth day of the most significant truce since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago.The estimated 2,000 remaining residents in the city were offered the choice of travelling to Ukrainian-held territory, Russian-held territory, or remaining in Oleshky with replenished food and medical supplies.Russia and Ukraine have not specified how many people chose to leave the city, but Melania Trump said the convoy had the capacity to safely evacuate more than 750 people.Officials in Kyiv said residents bound for Ukraine were travelling to the city of Anapa in southern Russia before flying to Belarus and crossing the border into northern Ukraine.The shortest route from Oleshky to Anapa is about 450 kilometres (280 miles) through Russian-held Crimea.Lantratova said buses also transported Oleshky residents who wanted to live in Russia.Sky News correspondent Stuart Ramsay reported that two separate queues formed for the evacuation buses - one for residents choosing to resettle in Russia and another for those seeking to return to Ukraine via Russia and Belarus.According to his sources, some Russian soldiers attempted to pressure residents onto the wrong buses and repeatedly provided misleading information about where the convoys were heading.Ramsay said messages shared between residents showed people repeatedly sought reassurance from Russian troops and bus staff that they were boarding transport bound for Ukraine.Not everyone chose to leave.One Oleshky resident told the BBC she had decided against evacuation because she did not want to abandon her animals.Olena, who now lives in Kyiv, said her grandmother and wider family in Oleshky were also staying put.'The older generation does not want to leave,' she said. 'I've barely managed to persuade my father - and only because I've just had a baby, who he would never see otherwise.'Olena said her grandmother's sister died in Oleshky last winter.'She lost her legs after stepping on a landmine, covered in snow... People took her to the hospital in a garden wheelbarrow,' she said.'That's how locals transport all wounded and dead people in Oleshky to the hospital and the hospital's morgue: in garden wheelbarrows.' Pedestrians walk on a street covered with anti-drone nets during a temporary ceasefire in the southern Kherson region in the city of Kherson, southern Ukraine, on October 30, 2026 Ukraine's human rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets greets residents, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the city of OleshkyAfter the convoys left Oleshky, Ukraine's ombudsman and chief negotiator Dmytro Lubinets described the aid mission as 'unique' and said he hoped the same model could be used to help other communities stranded by the war.Following a major effort to clear mines from roads leading in and out of the city, an aid convoy of 25 buses, ambulances and trucks arrived in Oleshky on Friday carrying food and medical supplies.Officials from both countries worked together in the rare joint humanitarian operation, providing a brief respite from the grinding war of attrition.The localised ceasefire in Ukraine's southern Kherson region is expected to continue until Sunday evening.The United States played a central role in the mission. Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, also urged Russian and Ukrainian leaders to permit aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.'Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will have the opportunity to do so safely,' Russia and Ukraine said in separate but identical statements earlier on Friday.'Those who choose to stay may remain and will receive all the humanitarian support they need.'Fighting continued elsewhere, however.Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences had downed more than 1,000 Ukrainian drones overnight, while Ukraine's air force said Moscow launched ballistic missiles alongside waves of drones.A Russian drone attack on the town of Shostka in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region killed one woman and injured eight other people, according to Ukrainian emergency services.In his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of intensifying attacks designed to make ordinary Ukrainians suffer through another winter.'The Russians have not taken a single step toward de-escalation in the energy sector and continue terrorist strikes on our cities,' he said.'We will respond accordingly and justly.'Earlier on Friday, Zelensky said Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities were among the country's key long-term security guarantees.He hailed Kyiv's ability to hit targets deep inside Russian territory following months of drone attacks on the country's oil infrastructure.After meeting senior officials to discuss the campaign, Zelensky said: 'Russian facilities along a line stretching from Yamal to Western Siberia are now within range of our deep strikes, and we are working to ensure that our drones and missiles can reach even more distant parts of Russian territory.'Zelensky's office also announced sanctions on individuals and entities involved in developing Russia's Rassvet satellite communications system, which Kyiv says Moscow is expanding for military use.