Ukrainian evacuees reunite with family after years trapped in Russia-occupied city

Evacuees from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky crossed into Ukrainian territory on Friday and Saturday after a humanitarian ceasefire allowed residents to leave the devastated frontline city for the first time in years.

A convoy of 25 buses carried approximately 750 people out of Oleshky, which sits roughly 5 kilometers from Ukrainian military positions. Evacuees first traveled through Russian-occupied territory to southern Russia, then flew to Belarus before being driven across Ukraine's northern border into the Chernihiv region.

Families reunited after years of separation. Two sisters ran toward a bus carrying their father, whom they had not seen in three years. Another family said they plan to marry after being separated throughout the war.

The oldest evacuee was 94 years old. The youngest was one, according to Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman. Many residents arrived in poor condition, with ambulances accompanying the buses. Some were so weak they required stretchers.

Conditions in Oleshky had become severe. Residents lacked food, water and electricity, and some resorted to cooking garden weeds to survive. The city had been mined, making escape highly dangerous until the ceasefire. One resident who left three weeks earlier walked through 24 kilometers of minefields to reach safety.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked US First Lady Melania Trump for efforts in brokering the ceasefire that made the evacuation possible.

Several hundred residents chose to stay in the city despite the devastation. Russia said it had prepared dozens of tonnes of aid for those who remained.

The ceasefire took effect Tuesday across the Kherson region and remains in place until November 1. Lubinets, accompanied by his Russian counterpart, visited Oleshky on Friday, becoming the first Ukrainian official to visit Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory since the war began. Some in Ukraine criticized the sight of him standing alongside a Russian representative.

Before the 2022 invasion, Oleshky had 24,000 residents.