Hundreds of residents were evacuated from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky on Friday under a humanitarian ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, according to BBC World. The evacuation was carried out under a days-long ceasefire, and the sources describe it as a rare joint operation.
According to BBC World, residents had a four-hour window to leave the city. Some people are understood to have stayed behind despite the lack of power and water in the area.
SCMP (HK) reports that around 200 residents have left for Ukraine, and dozens more have chosen to travel to Russian areas. The sources do not give an official count, and the SCMP and BBC figures are not reconciled. The BBC says hundreds were evacuated in total.
The Belta state news agency reported on Saturday that three planes carrying evacuated residents landed at Gomel airport in Belarus, according to SCMP (HK). This detail comes from a single source, Belta as reported by SCMP, and has not been confirmed elsewhere in the material available.
Belta said evacuees bound for Ukraine travelled by bus via the Crimean peninsula to the Russian town of Anapa, then flew to Belarus. From there, they will proceed to Ukraine via a border crossing, the agency said.
SCMP (HK) reports that the residents who left were starving and exhausted. It describes their evacuation as part of a joint relief operation by the opposing sides, the first of its kind in four years and eight months of war.
Oleshky is described as a Russian-controlled frontline Ukrainian city that is under siege. Al Jazeera describes the evacuation as taking place under a localised ceasefire brokered by Melania Trump. Only a headline and a short excerpt of the Al Jazeera report were available, so its details could not be checked beyond that. The BBC also reports a lack of power and water in the area during the evacuation.
Several points remain unclear. The sources do not include statements from Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian or US officials. The ceasefire is described only as lasting days, with no exact dates or end time given. The BBC reports the evacuation on Friday, while SCMP reports the Belarus landings on Saturday, and the sources do not clarify the timeline.
Evacuees who chose Ukraine are expected to cross into Ukraine via a border crossing after their transit through Belarus. The sources do not say whether the ceasefire will be extended or whether further evacuations will take place.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.