Civilians from war-ravaged Oleshky arrive in Belarus during Melania Trump-brokered ceasefire

Four planes carrying residents evacuated from the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Oleshky have landed in Belarus, the country’s state ​news agency and a senior Ukrainian official said Saturday. Hundreds of starving and exhausted ‌residents left the town of Oleshky on Friday during a local ceasefire brokered by first lady Melania Trump, the first of its kind and the longest humanitarian pause in the war, which is nearing its fifth year. “The ​last, fourth plane landed in Gomel,” said David Arakhamia, a top Ukrainian ​peace negotiator and close ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “In a few ⁠hours, all Ukrainian citizens evacuated from Oleshky together with a Ukrainian delegation will be ​on Ukrainian territory.” Belarus’ Belta news agency later reported that a convoy of buses carrying the residents had ​departed from the airport in Gomel, in southeastern Belarus near the border with Ukraine. The evacuees leaving for Ukraine had to take a complicated route to leave Oleshky as the frontline runs just ​a few miles away. They first travelled by bus via Crimea to the Russian town ​of Anapa before flying to Belarus from where they will continue to Ukraine via a border ‌crossing, ⁠Belta reported. The local ceasefire in Oleshky was reached thanks to mediation efforts by first lady Melania Trump and with the involvement of Pope Leo XIV. The ceasefire has been holding since Tuesday without violations, according to both Ukrainian and Russian officials. It has allowed them ​to de-mine the roads ​and bring food, ⁠medicines and other supplies into the town. Supply routes to Oleshky were disrupted by fighting and drones. According to some residents, food ​deliveries were stopped in May, pushing hundreds of people into starvation. It ​was not ⁠immediately clear how many people decided to leave Oleshky and how many opted to stay in the town. Oleshky residents had options to travel to Russia or to return ⁠to ​Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have said around 1,700 people remained in ​Oleshky from a pre-war population of about 24,000. According to several residents interviewed by Reuters, many of those ​were elderly or ill.