A long journey from the Dnipro
Evacuees from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky reached Ukrainian-controlled territory on Oct. 31 after an arduous 19-hour journey. The mission followed a temporary ceasefire agreement reached between Ukraine and Russia through mediation by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and the departure of civilians wishing to leave Oleshky. According to Newsmax journalist Alex Salvi, who was one of the only non-Russian journalists granted access to the mission inside Oleshky itself, the approximately 750 people who registered for evacuation were split between 11 buses going to Ukraine and four taking those who chose Russia.
| Evacuation details | Data |
|---|---|
| Total registered evacuees | 750 |
| Buses traveling to Ukraine | 11 |
| Buses traveling to Russia | 4 |
| Remaining Oleshky population | 2,000 |
The first leg of the trip took residents to Armiansk in occupied Crimea, where they chose to head toward either Russia or Ukraine. From Armiansk, the buses traveled to Anapa in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, where residents boarded four planes destined for Belarus. These planes landed in Gomel, Belarus, for the final leg to Ukrainian-controlled territory. Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova coordinated the operation. Lubinets noted the oldest evacuee was 94, while the youngest had only recently turned one. The ceasefire agreement makes this the longest halt to the fighting in any area since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, as it lasts until 11 p.m.
Survival in an embattled town
Liudmyla Burychenko, 39, and her husband Valentyn arrived in Ukraine after spending months in a basement to avoid drones. The town, located on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River across from the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson, remained under Russian occupation since the early days of the invasion. Iryna Mohylna, who waited for her godfather to return, said traveling around the city was very dangerous because of the mines. She last spoke to her godfather on Oct. 27 and later saw a video of him boarding an evacuation plane. "It’s the pain of what has happened and of what is still to come… I understand his age and why he chose not to leave. He spent his whole life working, building something for himself, and now he has to leave it all behind. It’s impossible to put into words."
The population fell from 24,000 before the war to about 2,000 in October, and the evacuation provided an exit from the worsening humanitarian crisis for those remaining. This remaining population, including nearly 50 children, faced severe shortages of food, drinking water, electricity, and medical supplies. Andrii Zhydenko, director of Chernihiv Regional Hospital, said more than 30 employees from the hospital waited to assist the evacuees. Zhydenko said, "It’s a celebration because we’re bringing our Ukrainians home. You know how much they suffered there. It is simply genocide in the 21st century."
Staged scenes and intimidation tactics
The evacuation included a heavy Russian media presence, with numerous Russian journalists attending while only two Ukrainian and two American journalists had access. Russian forces cleared the road of debris and rubble to create an image for American television that "it’s not that terrible in Oleshky," despite entire neighborhoods having been reduced to ruin. Kseniia Arkhipova, an evacuation volunteer, said that Russia violated the terms of the agreement by starting the evacuation early. Footage from TASS showed civilians being moved with only Russian forces present and before the agreed-upon date of departure, Oct. 30.
Russian forces also used intimidation to discourage residents from leaving for Ukraine. An anonymous source told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 29 that patients at the city’s only functioning hospital faced filtration if they left. That source also said Russian forces refused to go house-to-house to inform sick or immobile people that the evacuation was happening. Residents in outlying villages heard they could be shot if they approached the assembly point. Some residents expressed fears in local Telegram chats that they could be taken to "concentration camps."
