Hundreds evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky after US-brokered ceasefire

Hundreds of residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky crossed into northern Ukraine via Belarus on Saturday after a humanitarian ceasefire in the Kherson region provided the first pause in four years of fighting, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump.

Residents had a four-hour window on Friday to depart. A convoy of 25 buses carried up to 750 evacuees, with ambulances for those with limited mobility. After travelling through Russian-occupied territory and southern Russia, then flying to Belarus, they arrived by bus at a military facility in Chernihiv.

Up to 6,000 people, including 200 children, were believed still to be living in Oleshky and its surrounding areas, with 1,700 in the city itself. Oleshky was seized by Russia during the opening days of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Trapped between the Dnipro River and Russian forces, residents said mined routes and drone attacks had made earlier escape attempts too dangerous.

Survivors described extreme deprivation. Resident Olha told the BBC that people had crossed minefields to find food, with some dying or being maimed in the attempt. Those too frightened to leave had been cooking garden weeds to survive. Her husband Viacheslav described the experience as returning from "hell."

Mykhailo Palii, reunited with daughters Dasha and Anya at the Chernihiv facility, said drones and missile strikes had blown a hole in his bathroom — a detail he had kept from his family to avoid worry.

Tetiana and Volodymyr, who carried a cat off the bus, said their home had been burned down three years ago and they had been living in a neighbour's abandoned house since.