Civilians reach Ukraine after Oleshky evacuation backed by Pope and US First Lady

By Stefan J. Bos

Residents carrying their belongings boarded buses in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky, beginning a journey that offered hope after years of war and severe humanitarian hardship.

The vehicles moved cautiously under security escort, taking civilians away from a town where shortages of food, drinking water and medicine had become increasingly desperate.

Their situation had become so severe that some residents reported eating garden weeds to survive.

Those leaving for Ukrainian-held territory were first taken by bus to the Russian city of Anapa, then flown to Homel in Belarus, before continuing overland into Ukraine.

Evacuation under rare ceasefire

Those choosing Russian-held territory were transported by bus, with some taken to temporary accommodation in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. Others remained in Oleshky.

The extraordinary operation was made possible by a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, allowing humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations.

Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets, who coordinated the mission with his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, thanked U.S. First Lady Melania Trump for her involvement.

Pope Leo's appeals

The American first lady helped broker the agreement, while Pope Leo XIV personally appealed to the Russian leader to allow humanitarian assistance and civilian evacuations.

Desperately needed food, drinking water and medical supplies were also delivered to residents who remained in Oleshky.

The exact number evacuated has not been disclosed for security reasons, although Melania Trump indicated that more than 750 people could be evacuated.

The operation has raised hopes that similar humanitarian arrangements could be extended to other communities trapped along the front line.

Families await reunions

At the Ukrainian border, relatives waited anxiously for loved ones they had not seen for years.

Among them were daughters hoping to embrace their fathers again after prolonged separation under Russian occupation.

One of them, 19-year-old Liza Paliy, had not seen her father for more than two and a half years after fleeing the occupied territory with her mother and sister while he remained behind.

Another woman, Daria Pavlyn, waited for her father, Mykhailo, who had stayed behind to look after the family’s home and animals.

Lubinets has urged that the humanitarian mission be extended to other communities along the front line, where civilians continue to endure similar conditions.

War continues elsewhere

But the mission has come at a cost. Russian officials reported that two people, including a military demining specialist, were killed while clearing roads for the humanitarian convoy.

And elsewhere in Ukraine, the war continues. Fresh Russian strikes on energy infrastructure have left some 280,000 households without electricity, Ukrainian authorities say.

The attacks have renewed concerns about the vulnerability of civilians as winter approaches, despite the temporary humanitarian breakthrough in Oleshky.

For those who have escaped the devastated town, however, the ceasefire has offered something they had waited years for: a chance to return home and reunite with their families.

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