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Oleshky evacuees reunite with families after truce allows crossing back into Ukraine

Residents of nearby villages line highway waving flags to greet the evacuees’ convoy from the Russian-occupied city Evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky have been reunited with their families after crossing into Ukrainian-held territory on Saturday.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 5 sources•1 min read•Updated October 31, 2026, 7:17 PM UTC
Key points
  • After Melania Trump reportedly brokered a localized truce, residents of Ukraine's Oleshky managed to leave the occupied city.
  • Ukraine correspondent Dan Johnson explains the temporary ceasefire in the devastated town of Oleshky.
  • Under the local ceasefire, an aid convoy of 25 buses arrived with humanitarian aid and as transport for fleeing Oleshky residents.

Evacuees from Oleshky crossed into Ukrainian-held territory Saturday in a major rescue operation after travelling through Belarus during a rare truce brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump.

Additional details
  • Meanwhile, Kyiv claimed a hit on a Russian rocket fuel plant.
  • The Ukrainian city has been occupied by Russia since 2022 and faces food shortages.
  • The city of Oleshky has been under Russian occupation since 2022 and was caught in intense fighting that left residents starving and unable to leave.
  • Residents evacuated from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky have left for Russia's Anapa city with a Ukrainian delegation, senior official David Arakhamia said Friday.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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Every article behind this summary — 7 articles from 5 outlets

The Guardian WorldOctober 31, 2026, 7:17 PM UTC → Al JazeeraOctober 31, 2026, 6:32 PM UTC → DW NewsOctober 31, 2026, 3:47 PM UTC → France 24October 31, 2026, 12:45 PM UTC → BBC WorldOctober 30, 2026, 11:19 PM UTC → France 24October 30, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC → DW NewsOctober 30, 2026, 8:09 PM UTC →

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