Hundreds of residents from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky have arrived in Belarus as part of a major evacuation mission facilitated by a regional truce. The White House reported that the humanitarian agreement was brokered with the assistance of US First Lady Melania Trump.
Four aircraft carrying the evacuees landed Saturday in the southeastern Belarusian town of Gomel, according to Ukrainian parliament member David Arakhamia. Upon arrival, rescue personnel, medical professionals, and Red Cross volunteers met the group, Belarusian state media reported. Arakhamia stated that the evacuees were scheduled to be transferred into Ukrainian territory within hours of their arrival.
The civilian evacuation began Friday when bus convoys departed from Oleshky, a locality heavily impacted by severe food and medicine shortages after years of ongoing conflict. The departures are part of a rare regional truce scheduled to remain in effect through Sunday.
Organizers offered an estimated 2,000 local residents the choice to relocate to Ukrainian-held territory, travel to Russian-held areas, or stay in Oleshky alongside newly delivered food and medical supplies. Neither Russian nor Ukrainian authorities have released a final breakdown of how many individuals opted to leave. However, Melania Trump noted in a Friday social media post that the humanitarian convoy was expected to safely evacuate more than 750 people.
Concurrently, Russian ombudswoman and lead mission representative Yana Lantratova reported that separate buses transported Oleshky residents who chose to relocate to Russia.
Diplomatic efforts surrounding the evacuation involved multiple international figures. Alongside the involvement of the US first lady, Pope Leo XIV—history’s first American pontiff—separately urged Russian and Ukrainian leaders to permit humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian departures.
