Civilians flee famine in occupied Oleshky as Ukraine-Russia ceasefire enables war's largest evacuation

Some residents of Oleshky had been eating garden weeds to survive. The Russian-occupied city in Ukraine's southern Kherson region had no reliable gas, power, potable water, or sewage. Landmines lined its damaged roads. Then, for six days, the guns went quiet — and more than 750 people got out.

A temporary ceasefire around Oleshky, which ran from October 27 to November 1, produced the most significant act of coordination between Russian and Ukrainian officials since the war began. Evacuees traveled by bus to the Russian city of Anapa, boarded planes through Russian airspace to Gomel in Belarus, and then crossed overland into Ukraine — where villagers lined the road waving Ukrainian flags and offering coffee and snacks, according to The Guardian.

Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets coordinated the mission on the ground with his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova. On October 30th, Lubinets traveled to Crimea for a personal visit to Oleshky alongside Lantratova — the first time a Ukrainian official had entered Russian-occupied territory since the invasion.

Everything unfolded without any incidents, and both sides noted the high level of organization.— Yana Lantratova, Russia's Human Rights Commissioner

US First Lady Melania Trump, who helped broker the agreement, 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.' Lubinets and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov each offered public thanks to her for drawing attention to the situation facing Oleshky's residents in the course of continuing US-Russia talks.

Pope Leo XIV also played a role. The Pope, who is recovering from lung cancer treatment, held a direct conversation with Russian President Putin in which he pressed for a truce that would allow food and medical aid to reach civilians and permit their safe, voluntary departure, Vatican News reported.

I hope that the cooperation between the parties, which made this necessary humanitarian act possible, will strengthen the desire for dialogue and lead to new concrete peace initiatives.— Pope Leo XIV

The evacuation was not a simple march out of the city. Residents carried belongings onto buses under security escort. Those choosing to go to Ukrainian-held territory took the long route through Crimea, Russia, and Belarus. Those opting for Russian-held areas were transported to temporary accommodation in Crimea. At the Ukrainian border, evacuees were met by aid organizations including the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and World Central Kitchen. Evacuees brought dogs, cats, parrots, and at least one raccoon.

At the border, families who had been separated for years reunited. Liza Paliy, 19, had spent more than two and a half years apart from her father after leaving occupied territory with her mother and sister while he stayed behind. According to Vatican News, Daria Pavlyn was among those waiting at the border for her father Mykhailo, who had remained in Oleshky to care for the family's home and animals.

Ukrainian officials declined to release an official count of evacuees for security reasons. Melania Trump put the figure at nearly 800. Large numbers of residents chose to stay in Oleshky, both commissioners confirmed, citing various personal reasons. Food, water, and medical supplies — all of them urgently needed — were delivered to the people who stayed behind.

The ceasefire's humanitarian record is complicated by what Ukraine's military says happened in parallel. Ukraine's General Staff said that after the truce ended on November 1, Russian forces had exploited the pause to rotate troops, reinforce positions, extend anti-drone defenses along roads, and resupply with ammunition. Drone footage recorded by a Ukrainian military unit and reviewed by Sky News appeared to show Russian soldiers, vehicles, and supplies moving through the area while the ceasefire was in effect. Ukrainian military intelligence further alleged that one vehicle broke away from a humanitarian convoy to deliver supplies to Russian positions, and that separate footage showed Russian soldiers removing boxes of food meant for civilians. Russia's Defense Ministry was contacted for comment, according to Sky News. Ukraine's military maintained that its own forces had honored the truce and operated within its conditions.

The human cost of the operation extended beyond the city itself. According to Vatican News, Russian officials said two people died while clearing roads for the humanitarian convoy, among them a military demining specialist. Elsewhere in Ukraine, the war continued: fresh Russian strikes on energy infrastructure left some 280,000 households without electricity as winter approached.

We are now working together with Yana Lantratova to explore opportunities for further humanitarian initiatives. It is important to maintain this mechanism of cooperation so that we can continue helping people and saving lives.— Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliament's Human Rights Commissioner

According to Vatican News, a fresh round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi in November. Whether the Oleshky model can be replicated — and whether both sides would honor a ceasefire's terms more fully — will define what this operation ultimately means for the civilians still trapped along the front line.

Why it matters — The Oleshky evacuation is the deepest act of Russian-Ukrainian cooperation since the war began, offering a potential template for reaching other trapped civilian populations — but Ukraine's allegations of Russian military exploitation of the pause raise hard questions about whether such truces can be trusted to hold.

Sources differ on Whether Russian forces violated the ceasefire's spirit: Russia and Ukraine both noted the high level of organization; the operation unfolded without incidents. (goodnewsnetwork.org) vs Ukraine's General Staff said Russian forces used the pause to rotate troops, fortify positions, and deliver ammunition; drone footage reviewed by Sky News showed military movement during the truce. (kyivpost.com)

Reported by goodnewsnetwork.org, kyivpost.com, vaticannews.va