In brief
A six‑day ceasefire, mediated by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV, opened a humanitarian corridor for residents of Oleshky to leave Russian‑controlled territory. Evacuees, many suffering from starvation, were met at an undisclosed site by family members and aid staff amid a rare pause in the fighting.
On Saturday, the town of Oleshky on Russia’s western front line opened its gates to a column of buses full of Ukrainian citizens who had been trapped under occupation for almost four years. The move followed a six‑day truce negotiated by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV that allowed civilians to cross into Ukrainian‑held territory, according to an Al Jazeera report dated 31 October 2026.
Evacuees onto their way out wore Ukrainian flags and embraced laughing brothers and sisters on a road that had once been a battlefield. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a message on X confirming that “all of them will receive the assistance they need,” and added that “further steps toward de‑escalation and real progress toward peace are also needed.”
The drive out of Oleshky was an arduous one. First the evacuees boarded buses that crossed into Russia, passed through Crimea and were ferried to the Russian town of Anapa. From there they flew to Belarus, where they joined a second convoy that crossed the border into Ukrainian‑held Chernihiv region. Ambulances lined the streets and large field tents were set up with hot meals, tea, and medical aid, the Al Jazeera narrative notes.
Many of the civilians had lived on “grass and squash … just to hold on,” one elderly man in a wheelchair told Reuters. Another evacuee, Svitlana Yermakova, remembered racing bicycles through minefields into nearby villages to seek food for her dog. Later she said:
Svitlana Yermakova: "We chopped grass and squash… just to hold on."
Supply routes to Oleshky had been cut in May by drone attacks, forcing hundreds of people to go hungry or to scavenge garden weeds. Reuters footage captured residents destroying crops to feed themselves, their faces gaunt from weight loss. The Guardian, though the page is currently unavailable, had previously reported that evacuations from the town were “the longest local pause in fighting” since Russia’s full‑scale invasion in 2022.
During the truce, Russian and Ukrainian officials confirmed that roads were no‑longer mine‑infested, and that food, medicine, and other humanitarian supplies could finally be delivered again. At the crossing point, banners reading “You’re not alone” and “We embrace with our hearts” flapped above the convoy, while residents from nearby villages waved Ukrainian flags and lit flashlights at night.
Some evacuees opted to remain in the front‑line area rather than join the crowd, citing ongoing shortages. “I would rather stay than risk the journey,” a Ukrainian spokesperson said in an interview with Al Jazeera.
The ceasefire, the longest of its kind in this region, is being watched by several international observers. While the mediation team led by Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV successfully negotiated a pause, both sides stress that the truce is temporary and that military tensions remain high in the wider conflict.
The operation has raised questions about the sustainability of longer‑term ceasefires. Analysts suggest that without a sustained peace settlement, the cycle of starvation and displacement may repeat, especially in towns like Oleshky that sit at the edge of active front lines. The humanitarian corridor, however, offers a powerful symbol that coordinated diplomacy can bring relief to isolated civilians even amid ongoing warfare.
