Dmytro, 54, waited for the bus carrying evacuees from Oleshky, gazing constantly toward the horizon. The Ukrainian soldier was waiting to see his wife, Larisa, from whom the war had separated him for 1,711 days. When she got off the bus on Saturday afternoon, he kissed her several times and embraced her tightly, unwilling to let her go.
Larisa was among hundreds of Ukrainian citizens who, after nearly five years apart, returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory from the occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region. The evacuation took place during a temporary ceasefire requested by Pope Leo XIV, with the assistance of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump in mediating it.
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Behind the couple’s reunion lie years of hunger, suffering and efforts to survive. During her time in the city occupied by Russian forces, Larisa lost around one-third of her body weight. The couple had managed to get their daughter out, but Larisa chose to stay: she feared she might be stopped at Russian military checkpoints during the so-called “filtration” process, in which Ukrainians were subjected to questioning that was often humiliating and violent. Her hope that conditions would improve was not fulfilled.
In 2023, Oleshky was hit by major flooding after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam, for which Ukrainian authorities have blamed Russia. Fierce fighting in the following years further deepened the humanitarian crisis. In September, according to Ukrainian authorities, the city lacked food, basic supplies, electricity, gas and medicine.
Other residents told CNN that they had not received food supplies since the summer. One woman said she had gone more than a year without eating bread and had subsisted mainly on tomatoes and cucumbers grown in her garden.
For Oleksandr, another evacuee, leaving Oleshky was like escaping hell. He told CNN that he had never felt better in his life. To survive, he had used canned food and pickles that residents had left in apartments.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the evacuees’ arrival on Telegram. He thanked Melania Trump for helping mediate the agreement, as well as journalists, political leaders and everyone who had drawn international attention to the situation in Oleshky. According to him, the world’s attention helps save people.
Melania Trump wrote on the social network X that the operation in Oleshky showed that humanity could be placed above war. On Sunday, the U.S. first lady called the ceasefire a success and congratulated Russia and Ukraine for cooperating in the humanitarian operation.
Ukraine’s ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, also took part in the evacuation, traveling to Oleshky to personally accompany the residents. He described the operation as extremely difficult, but expressed hope that the experience could serve as a model for other humanitarian evacuations. Lubinets told CNN that it had been a positive and unique negotiating experience with the Russian side, with Melania Trump playing a coordinating role.
Lubinets added that other settlements were facing similar shortages of food and medicine. According to him, Ukraine intends to continue its efforts to rescue civilians.
The Ukrainian military announced that on Sunday it also evacuated 167 people from areas of the Kherson region that faced Russian shelling every day. Among them were 22 children and 21 people with limited mobility. The ceasefire ended on November 1, and according to Lubinets, both sides honored their commitments throughout the operation.
The return journey was difficult. The roads leading to Oleshky were mined and littered with the remains of vehicles and drones, while a direct evacuation across the Dnipro River could not be carried out. After two days of work to clear the roads of mines, residents who wanted to leave set out on Friday via the Crimean Peninsula, occupied by Russia, toward Anapa in Russia’s Krasnodar region.
The journey continued by plane from Anapa to Gomel in Belarus and then by bus to Ukraine. Among the evacuees was Mykhailo Paliy, who reunited with his family after three years apart. His wife, Zhanna Ptakhova, and daughters Elizaveta and Daria had left Oleshky earlier, while he had stayed behind to look after the family home.
Without electricity, gas or heating, Mykhailo had adapted the home to survive: he built a stove, kept chickens and planted a garden to secure food. When the bus arrived, he recognized his daughters immediately among the other people, while they were still inside.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), around 40 percent of Oleshky’s residents left for Ukrainian-controlled territories during the early stages of the fighting. Before the war, the city had approximately 24,000 residents. Thousands more remained there because they could not or did not want to leave.
During this operation as well, some residents decided to remain in Oleshky, while another group chose to go to Russia. Russian authorities announced that the second group was received at a temporary accommodation center in Simferopol, Crimea.
For the families seen together again after years apart, returning to Ukraine opens a new chapter after fear, isolation and suffering. The events in Oleshky demonstrate the humanitarian consequences of war and the importance of agreements that give civilians the opportunity to escape.
