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Hundreds from Russian-occupied Oleshky land in Belarus en route to Ukraine
Confirmed
In Short: Hundreds of residents from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky were evacuated to Belarus on Saturday, with some choosing to remain in the war-torn city.
Four planes carrying evacuees from Oleshky arrived in Gomel, Belarus, on Saturday, according to Ukrainian parliament member David Arakhamia.
The evacuation came after a rare regional truce that has allowed for the demining of the road out of Oleshky, which has suffered from severe shortages of food and medicine.
About 2,000 residents were offered the choice of traveling to Ukrainian- or Russian-held territory, or staying in the city with replenished supplies.
Hundreds of residents chose to leave, while several hundred decided to stay, despite the widespread devastation and lack of basic services.
Olena, who now lives in Kyiv, said her grandmother and wider family in Oleshky were staying behind.
Russia prepared aid for residents who chose to stay, including food, medicine, hygiene products, and fuel for generators.
What's confirmed
- Four planes carrying the Oleshky evacuees arrived in the southeastern Belarusian town of Gomel on Saturday, said Ukrainian parliament member David Arakhamia.
- From there, they were due to be transported to Ukrainian territory “within hours”, said Arakhamia.
- Hundreds of residents from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky have been transported to Belarus, as part of a major evacuation mission under a truce that the White House says United States First Lady Melania Trump helped broker.
- The Oleshky ceasefire has required close cooperation with Lantratova, which Lubinets said he carried out in the interests of saving lives.
- Lubinets describes himself as first Ukrainian official to visit Russian-occupied parts Russia said it had prepared "dozens of tonnes" of aid for the residents who do not wish to leave, including food, medicine, hygiene products and fuel for generators.
What's still developing
- The group was met in Gomel by rescue workers, medical teams and Red Cross volunteers, Belarusian state media reported.
- Russia and Ukraine have not specified how many people chose to leave the city, but Melania Trump posted on Friday that the humanitarian convoy could safely evacuate more than 750 people.
- "That's how locals transport all wounded and dead people in Oleshky to the hospital and the hospital's morgue: in garden wheelbarrows."
- "Everything unfolded without any incidents, and both sides noted the high level of organisation," Russia's human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova said.
- "She lost her legs after stepping on a landmine, covered in snow... People took her to the hospital in a garden wheelbarrow," Olena said.
- Melania Trump said that "all elements of the convoy, including the safe passageway in and out of Oleshky, was established through mutual agreement between Russian and Ukrainian leaders".
- "I've barely managed to persuade my father - and only because I've just had a baby, who he would never see otherwise."
- "I was told that it was their own choice, we will do everything possible for the humanitarian aid to arrive."
- The Los Angeles Times said the operation offered evacuees the option of traveling to territory controlled by Ukraine or Russia, and it quoted the joint statements that "All those who wish to leave Oleshky will have the opportunity to do so safely,".
- "The older generation does not want to leave," she told the BBC.
- "The problem is that a lot of people are staying," he can be heard saying.
- An Oleshky resident told the BBC she had decided against leaving because "they wouldn't take my animals, so that's it."