Oleshky evacuees reach Ukraine via Russia and Belarus under rare local truce

Civilians evacuated from Oleshky, a town in Ukraine's Kherson region held by Russia, reached Ukrainian-controlled territory on Saturday after a long detour through Russia and Belarus, under a local ceasefire that AP described as the most significant truce of the full-scale war.

The six-day local truce began at 3 am local time on Tuesday, 27 October, and is due to end on Sunday evening. Russian and Ukrainian officials say it has held, Al Jazeera reported. The White House has credited US First Lady Melania Trump with helping to broker it, and Pope Leo XIV had also urged both sides to let the evacuation go ahead.

What happened

According to AP, evacuees were taken through the Russian Black Sea town of Anapa, flown to Gomel in Belarus and then brought overland into Ukraine. Ukrainian MP David Arakhamia said four planes carrying evacuees landed in Gomel on Saturday.

The number of people who left is not confirmed. Melania Trump said on Friday that the operation could "safely evacuate more than 750 people". About 2,000 residents were left in the town before the evacuation, according to AP; Al Jazeera put the figure at about 1,700, against a pre-war population of about 24,000. Ukrainian authorities have restricted reporting of the numbers and the crossing point.

Russia's human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, said on Telegram that "the mission has come to an end" and that the two sides had agreed to carry out regular humanitarian missions. She said some residents chose to go to Russia instead. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X that all the evacuees would get the help they needed, and that "further steps toward de-escalation and real progress toward peace are also needed".

The war goes on elsewhere

Away from Oleshky, attacks continued. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 134 drones overnight into Saturday, of which 105 were shot down, with hits recorded at 20 locations. Regional officials reported at least five people killed and 46 injured across Ukraine over the previous day, the Kyiv Independent reported. Zelensky said about 280,000 households were without power in Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions after strikes on the energy system.

Russia's defence ministry said it shot down 433 Ukrainian drones overnight into Saturday, and the governor of Russia's Bryansk region said a Ukrainian drone killed two people. Early on Sunday, the Kyiv Independent reported that Lukoil's refinery at Kstovo in the Nizhny Novgorod region was on fire after a reported drone strike; it said this could not be immediately verified, and Russia had not commented.

The US State Department has approved a proposed $2.1 billion sale of 500 PAC-3 Patriot interceptors for Ukraine, paid for by Canada, Germany and Norway, AP reported.

Background and what happens next

Oleshky lies on the left bank of the Dnipro, which has formed the front line in Kherson region since Ukraine retook Kherson city in November 2022.

The Kremlin said on 23 October that talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine were planned in the United Arab Emirates in November. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said leader-level talks were tentatively set for 4 November, but Zelensky has described the planned meeting as working-level. India, which has called for dialogue and diplomacy to end the war, has close ties with the UAE and has bought large volumes of Russian oil since 2022, so any shift in the talks matters for its energy bills.