Five-day Oleshky ceasefire ends after hundreds evacuated

Hundreds of people evacuated from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky have reached Ukrainian-held territory after a local ceasefire brokered by the US First Lady, Melania Trump, and supported by Pope Leo. The truce began on 27 October and ended after five days. Both Russia and Ukraine said it was respected. The Kremlin described it as an isolated case that should not be applied to the wider war.

Oleshky lies on the eastern bank of the Dnipro, opposite Kherson. Before the war it had about 24,000 residents. By the time of the truce around 2,000 remained in the town, while Kyiv believed up to 6,000 people were in the town and surrounding areas. Residents had been cut off since May without reliable food, water, power or medicine. Roads were mined and drones controlled the skies. BBC News reported that two people were killed during demining before the evacuation.

On 30 October, 25 buses and ambulances entered Oleshky with space for about 750 people. Sky News reported that around 1,000 residents, including 50 children, had been expected to leave, while the eventual total was in the hundreds. Reports from the scene said 17 buses carried people who wanted to go to Ukraine and four carried people who chose Russia. The route to Ukraine ran through Crimea and Russia to Anapa, then by Russian military transport plane to Gomel in Belarus, and finally by bus to Chernihiv in northern Ukraine.

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, entered Oleshky with his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova. He was the first Ukrainian official to set foot in the town since it was occupied. They oversaw the evacuation and the delivery of aid. Some residents were reluctant to leave. They feared Russian searches, interrogation or being sent to Russia. Sky News reported that residents said Russian soldiers tried to steer people onto Russia-bound buses.

Sky News also reported exclusively, using drone footage, that Russian forces used the ceasefire to bring in troops, equipment and supplies. The footage appeared to show Russian soldiers removing humanitarian supplies and bodies from the hospital and morgue. The Russian Ministry of Defence had not replied to a request for comment from Sky News. Many residents stayed. Sky News reported that as many as two-thirds remained.

On 31 October, evacuees arrived in Chernihiv. Families were reunited after years apart. President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Melania Trump and said he hoped humanitarian access to Oleshky would remain. In an interview with BBC News, former president Petro Poroshenko also thanked Melania Trump and Pope Leo, but said the only evacuation route ran through Russian territory.

Fighting continued elsewhere. Russia struck Kyiv, Dnipro and Sumy, damaging energy infrastructure and a bridge. Ukraine struck Russian refineries. The US State Department approved the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine for about $2bn, paid for by Canada, Germany and Norway. BBC News reported that Marina Hrytsenko, director of the Serpens Centre for International Security in Kyiv, warned that the missiles would not solve Ukraine's immediate air defence needs.

The five-day ceasefire has now ended. On 2 November, Sky News reported that both Ukraine and Russia said their emergency alert apps had been hit by cyber attacks. The channel had also reported that Russian forces used the truce to reinforce their positions.