Residents evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky during U.S.-brokered ceasefire

October 30, 2026 / 4:16 PM EDT / CBS News

Kyiv – Ukrainian and Russian humanitarian delegations began evacuating residents from Russian-occupied Oleshky on Friday, with plans to move the evacuees through Russia and Belarus before arriving back in Ukraine on Saturday.

Oleshky, a city in Ukraine's southeastern Kherson region occupied by Russia since the first days of the Ukraine-Russia war, has seen one of the most dire humanitarian crises of the conflict. Russian strikes on the surrounding area have prevented food, water, and medicine from reaching the city for months. Last week, first lady Melania Trump brokered a temporary ceasefire in Oleshky from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 to allow humanitarian aid to enter, and for some residents to evacuate the area. Pope Leo also pressed for a truce.

On Friday morning, Ukrainian and Russian humanitarian delegations reached the city and began administering aid and preparing for evacuations

"Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will be given the opportunity to leave safely. At the same time, those who have decided to stay can stay and will receive all the necessary humanitarian support," Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, who led the Ukrainian delegation, said.

The convoy included 25 buses…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/