Ukrainians evacuated from occupied Oleshky land in Belarus

Four planes carrying residents evacuated from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky landed in the Belarusian city of Gomel on Saturday morning. Ukrainian parliament member David Arakhamia stated that all evacuated Ukrainian citizens were expected to return to Ukrainian territory within a few hours. BBC News, Al Jazeera, and rte.ie all reported the arrival of the four flights in Belarus. [1][2][7][9][10][11]

The evacuation took place during a local ceasefire that the White House said United States First Lady Melania Trump helped broker, according to reports by Euronews and Al Jazeera. France 24 reported that evacuees left Oleshky with a Ukrainian delegation for the Russian city of Anapa on Friday before flying to Belarus, with plans to return to Ukraine by bus. [1][2][3][5]

Belarusian state media reported that rescue workers, medical teams, and Red Cross volunteers met the group upon arrival in Gomel. Hundreds of residents were transported from the town, which France 24 reported has been ravaged by food and medicine shortages. [2][3]

Oleshky is located on the left bank of the Dnieper River in Kherson Oblast and was captured by Russia in 2022. As FTMQ News reported earlier, Russian forces occupied the city in February 2022, and a temporary truce was recently established to allow humanitarian aid into the area and permit civilian evacuations. [3][14][17]