Oleshky evacuees arrive in Belarus amid localised truce between Kyiv and Moscow
Evacuees from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in Ukraine's Kherson region arrived in Belarus on Saturday under a short humanitarian truce between Kyiv and Moscow. Video shared by Ukraine's human rights commissioner showed some of the residents stepping off a plane after landing in the country, with pets among the belongings visible in the footage. Ukrainian officials said the final aircraft carrying evacuees had reached Gomel in southeastern Belarus.
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David Arakhamia said the fourth and last plane had landed and that, within hours, all Ukrainian citizens evacuated from Oleshky, together with the Ukrainian delegation, would be back on Ukrainian territory. Russia's defence ministry also confirmed that people from Oleshky who had requested to leave were flown to Gomel. The truce was due to last until Sunday evening, and the evacuation was carried out during that limited window.
The operation comes as Ukraine continues to face pressure on its energy system after Russian strikes overnight. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said around 280,000 households were left without power, including about 200,000 in Dnipro and the wider region and a further 80,000 or more in the Kyiv region. He said repair crews were working to restore electricity after attacks on a combined heat and power plant in Kyiv and four electrical substations in the Dnipro region.
The evacuation is significant because it involved civilians leaving an occupied area through a temporary arrangement that required coordination across the front line. It also highlights the continuing humanitarian strain of the war in southern Ukraine, where access to safe passage often depends on short ceasefire windows. The use of Belarus as a transit point adds another layer to an already complex route for civilians leaving Oleshky.
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The arrangement was presented as a humanitarian effort for people who chose to leave the city, with one side saying more than 750 people could be moved under the plan. The convoy included buses, medical staff and ambulances, according to the earlier announcement. The operation also involved senior human rights officials from both sides, underlining the unusual nature of the contact despite the wider conflict.
What remains unclear is how many evacuees were on each aircraft and how quickly they will complete the return journey to Ukraine. It is also not clear how many residents stayed behind in Oleshky after the evacuation window closed. The truce is due to end on Sunday evening, and the next development will be whether the remaining movement across the border is completed as planned.
