In brief
A six‑day ceasefire enabled the evacuation of civilians from the occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky. In Ukrainian‑held Chernihiv region, the evacuees, wrapped in Ukrainian flag‑tied buses, were met by officials and locals with welcoming displays. While many reunited with family, a handful opted to remain after enduring severe shortages, highlighting the difficult choices civilians face amid a war that has disrupted supply chains for years.
On 31 October 2026, starved residents of the Russian‑occupied town of Oleshky crossed the border into Ukraine during a six‑day ceasefire, after months of disrupted supply routes forced them to starve and travel long distances for food and medical care.
Al Jazeera reports that the pause was mediated by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV, and it marks the longest truce since Russia’s 2022 full‑scale invasion. In Chernihiv, the evacuees, many wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags, boarded buses that had been assembled in a local square and were met by officials bearing posters that read “You’re not alone” and “We embrace with our hearts.” Residents of nearby villages lined the highway, waving flags and flashlights to greet the weary travelers.
Al Jazeera portrays the event as a humanitarian success but also as a grim reminder of the crisis that forced people to survive on grass. The outlet notes that supply routes to Oleshky had been cut by fighting and drone strikes, leading to a starvation crisis in May that left residents force‑feeding on grass and the risked cycling through minefields to reach a village with food.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked the United States and the First Lady for “helping us reach a first humanitarian truce of this kind in more than four years,” posted a message on X declaring that every evacuee would receive the assistance they needed. He added that further de‑escalation steps and real progress toward peace were necessary. The Ukrainian side said the truce had held since Tuesday, allowing both parties to de‑mine roads and bring food, medicine, and other supplies back into Oleshky.
“Ukrainian citizens from Oleshky have crossed the Ukrainian border in the Chernihiv region. All of them will receive the assistance they need,” Zelenskyy wrote.
One evacuee, an elderly man in a wheelchair, told Reuters that he had lost 20 kg (44 lbs) over the past year and was now so weak he required hospital treatment. Another, Svitlana Yermakova, shared her survival story:
“We chopped grass and squash… just to hold on,”
Yermakova added that she risked riding her bicycle through minefields to a nearby village for food for herself and her dog, illustrating the extreme hardship faced by those living under occupation.
The evacuation involved a convoluted route: residents first crossed Crimea by bus to the Russian town of Anapa, then flew to Belarus before stepping through Ukrainian‑held territory. Ambulances lined the street at the crossing point, and large military tents were erected to provide hot meals, tea, and medical aid. According to officials, the ceasefire has allowed for the systematic re‑entry of supplies and the de‑mining of roads, resolving one of the key obstacles to relief distribution.
While the reunited families celebrated the moment, the size of the crowd was tempered by the fact that some evacuees chose to stay behind to avoid the difficulties of reintegration after years of deprivation. The event’s coverage by Al Jazeera frames it both as an emotional family reunion and as a stark sign of the ongoing humanitarian need that persists even within the most extended pauses in hostilities.
