Hundreds of residents evacuated from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky on Saturday after crossing into northern Ukraine via Belarus, many reuniting with family members they had not seen for years.
Oleshky, seized by Russia in February 2022, sits trapped between the Dnipro River and Russian forces. Residents described years of intense shelling, minefields, and severe food shortages. Some residents attempted to cross minefields to find food, with people killed and injured in the process. Others cooked garden weeds to survive.
The evacuation followed a humanitarian ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump that took effect in the Kherson region this week, the first sustained peace in four years. Residents had a four-hour window on Friday to leave. A convoy of 25 buses evacuated up to 750 people, including 200 children, with ambulances provided for those with limited mobility.
Up to 6,000 people were believed to remain in Oleshky and surrounding areas, with 1,700 in the city itself.
Evacuees traveled through Russian-occupied territory to southern Russia, then flew to Belarus before arriving by bus at a military facility in Chernihiv on Saturday. Some elderly residents were so weak they required stretchers.
Mykhailo Palii reunited with his daughters Dasha and Anya on the tarmac after fearing he might never see them again. He described drone attacks and missile strikes, saying he had withheld details from his family to avoid worrying them. Another couple, Tetiana and Volodymyr, said their home burned three years ago and they had been living in an abandoned neighbor's house.
Evacuees now face the challenge of finding work and housing. Palii said he would seek any available job. Olha, who lived in Oleshky with her husband Viacheslav and their adult children, said she and her family have no relatives elsewhere in Ukraine and will stay with acquaintances while rebuilding their lives.