{ "id": 17373158, "title": "Russia-occupied Oleshky evacuees arrive in Belarus, Ukraine next", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/russia-occupied-oleshky-evacuees-arrive-in-belarus-ukraine-next", "topic": "world", "section": "World", "published": "2026-10-31T09:22:22.000Z", "source": { "name": "South China Morning Post", "slug": "south-china-morning-post", "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3372828/russia-occupied-oleshky-evacuees-arrive-belarus-ukraine-next" }, "original_language": "en", "account": "Three planes carrying evacuees from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky touched down at Gomel airport in Belarus on Saturday, according to the Belta state news agency. The refugees, eager to journey to Ukraine, traveled by bus across the Crimean peninsula to the Russian town of Anapa before taking to the skies for their final leg of the trip. The operation represents a joint humanitarian effort by opposing sides, marking the first of its kind in the nearly four-year conflict. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the evacuees were transported aboard Russian military aircraft from Anapa to Gomel in Belarus, accompanied by Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets. No exact numbers have been released yet regarding how many people were rescued from Oleshky during the evacuation, which marks the first humanitarian operation of this scale since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Over 200 residents opted to flee to Ukraine, while dozens chose to travel to Russian-controlled territories under a US-brokered ceasefire that has been in place since Tuesday. Both Russian and Ukrainian sources say that residents were given the choice to leave or stay in the town, which has been severely affected by food and medical shortages for months. Dozens of evacuees were briefly housed in Simferopol in Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, before embarking on their journey. More than 1,000 people may still be residing in Oleshky, a frontline city that has been cut off from the outside world since the war started. Before the war, Oleshky boasted a population of around 24,000. The region, heavily mined and featuring numerous anti-tank barriers, has been sealed off by the Russian military, with Ukrainian drone attacks posing a particular danger in the area. Lubinets and his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, visited Oleshky on Friday to personally oversee the evacuation. They expressed gratitude to US First Lady Melania Trump for facilitating the ceasefire, which is set to last until and including Sunday, and discussed the possibility of further humanitarian operations to aid those in need in frontline towns. Additional reporting by Reuters.", "summary": "Three planes carrying residents evacuated from the Russian-controlled frontline Ukrainian city of Oleshky landed at Gomel airport in Belarus, the Belta state news agency reported on Saturday. The evacuees, wishing to leave for Ukraine, travelled by bus via the Crimean peninsula to the Russian town of Anapa before flying to Belarus and will proceed to Ukraine via a border crossing, Belta said.…", "key_points": [ "Three planes evacuated Oleshky residents to Belarus on Saturday.", "Evacuees traveled via bus from Anapa to Gomel, Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner present.", "Joint humanitarian effort marks first of its kind in nearly four-year conflict." ], "editors_take": "This unprecedented joint humanitarian operation signals a temporary shift toward cooperation between opposing sides, enabled by a US-brokered ceasefire to address severe shortages in frontline territories.", "illustration": null, "coverage": { "outlets": 9, "also_reported_by": [ { "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press", "title": "Civilians from war-ravaged Oleshky arrive in Belarus on their way to Ukrainian territory", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/civilians-from-war-ravaged-oleshky-arrive-in-belarus-on-their-way-to", "published": "2026-10-31T09:40:51.000Z" }, { "outlet": "Channel News Asia", "title": "Residents of Russian-controlled Ukrainian town arrive in Belarus", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/residents-of-russian-controlled-ukrainian-town-arrive-in-belarus", "published": "2026-10-31T09:59:23.000Z" }, { "outlet": "RTE News", "title": "Residents of Ukraine's Oleshky arrive in Belarus", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/residents-of-ukraines-oleshky-arrive-in-belarus", "published": "2026-10-31T10:01:10.000Z" }, { "outlet": "Al Jazeera", "title": "Hundreds from Russian-occupied Oleshky land in Belarus en route to Ukraine", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/hundreds-from-russian-occupied-oleshky-land-in-belarus-en-route-to", "published": "2026-10-31T10:53:55.000Z" }, { "outlet": "New Voice of Ukraine", "title": "Last plane with evacuated Oleshky residents lands in Belarus; they will be in Ukraine within hours, Arakhamia says", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/last-plane-with-evacuated-oleshky-residents-lands-in-belarus-they", "published": "2026-10-31T12:44:00.000Z" }, { "outlet": "CBC News", "title": "Civilians evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky arrive in Belarus on their way to Ukraine", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/civilians-evacuated-from-russian-occupied-oleshky-arrive-in-belarus", "published": "2026-10-31T12:51:08.000Z" }, { "outlet": "Kyiv Independent", "title": "Oleshky residents reach Ukrainian-controlled territory after escaping Russian occupation", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/oleshky-residents-reach-ukrainian-controlled-territory-after-escaping", "published": "2026-10-31T13:04:04.000Z" }, { "outlet": "CNBC World", "title": "Residents of Russian-controlled Ukrainian town arrive in Belarus", "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/residents-of-russian-controlled-ukrainian-town-arrive-in-belarus-17408489", "published": "2026-10-31T13:09:12.000Z" } ] }, "ai_generated": true, "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original." }