Hundreds evacuated from Oleshky in first joint Russia-Ukraine relief convoy, on a long detour through Russia and Belarus
Hundreds left Russian-held Oleshky on Friday in a 25-bus convoy. To reach Ukraine 5km away, they must travel through Russia and Belarus.
At a glance
- Hundreds of residents left Russian-occupied Oleshky on Friday, October 30, 2026, Russian and Ukrainian officials said, in the first relief operation of its kind in the war.
- A convoy of 25 buses with ambulances could carry up to 750 people during a four-hour window that closed at 14:00 local time. No final number has been published.
- Ukrainian lines are about 5km away, but evacuees must go via Anapa in Russia and Gomel in Belarus to reach Ukraine's Chernihiv region.
- Several hundred people, mostly older, have chosen to stay, without gas, electricity or running water.
- The two countries' human rights ombudsmen jointly asked Melania Trump to keep such missions going.
Hundreds of people left the devastated Russian-occupied town of Oleshky on Friday, October 30, 2026, in a convoy of 25 buses and ambulances, the first joint relief operation between Russia and Ukraine in more than four and a half years of war. Officials on both sides said it passed without incident. The people heading for Ukrainian territory now face a journey of well over a thousand kilometres to reach a front line that sits just 5km from where they started.
Residents had four hours to board, until 14:00 local time. The buses could take up to 750 people. Neither government has yet published a final count, and earlier estimates suggested more than 500 wanted to go to Ukrainian-held territory.
Why a 5km trip goes through Belarus
Oleshky lies on the occupied left bank of the Dnipro, directly across the river from Kherson. The river is the front line, so nobody can simply cross. The route agreed by the two sides goes the long way round.
| Stage | From and to | How |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oleshky to Anapa, southern Russia | Bus, through occupied territory |
| 2 | Anapa to Gomel, Belarus | Russian government plane |
| 3 | Gomel to Chernihiv region, Ukraine | Road, across the border |
Some evacuees are expected to stay in Russian-held areas instead. Davyd Arakhamia, a Ukrainian lawmaker who travelled with the delegation, confirmed that the first group was on its way to Anapa.
Two ombudsmen, one convoy
Ukraine's human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova travelled into the town together, setting off from Armiansk in occupied Crimea. Video from the town showed tearful residents waiting in heavy rain and embracing members of the Ukrainian delegation.
Lantratova said everything had gone "without any incidents". She and Lubinets then made a joint appeal to US First Lady Melania Trump, who brokered the truce, asking that aid missions of this kind be repeated under her coordination. Melania Trump said the convoy and the safe passage in and out had been set up by mutual agreement between Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, confirmed the operation was under way in a brief online post.
Those who stayed behind
About 2,000 people were still living in Oleshky before Friday, including about 50 children, according to officials and volunteers. Several hundred, mainly older residents, decided not to leave, despite the lack of gas, electricity and running water.
"Those who decide to remain will be able to stay and will receive all the necessary humanitarian assistance," Lubinets said on Friday morning. The convoy also brought in food and medicine.
Conditions in the town have been severe for a long time. It was occupied in early 2022, flooded when the Kakhovka dam was destroyed in 2023, and then cut off as access roads were mined and drones made any movement dangerous. Former residents have described hunger and a lack of medicine. A Ukrainian charity, Save Ukraine, says it brought out at least 300 civilians over the past six months, in small, risky trips.
A truce with an end date
The ceasefire that made this possible began at 3am Kyiv time on Tuesday, October 27, and covers the entire Kherson front. It is the longest and widest pause in fighting since the invasion began, and gave sappers time to clear the road out of the town.
It is due to expire late on Sunday, November 1. Lubinets has warned that hard issues remain in the talks, and neither side has said whether the pause will be extended. The next things to watch are the first arrivals in the Chernihiv region and any official figure for how many left.
