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CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine: Residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky crossed into Ukrainian-held territory Saturday in a major evacuation operation carried out under the most significant truce since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 4\u00bd years ago.<\/p>\n
Evacuees wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags stepped off buses at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border and reunited with family members. Volunteers with hand-drawn welcome signs handed out coffee to the weary travelers who had journeyed by bus and plane through Russia and Belarus. Residents of nearby villages lined the highway waving flags and flashlights to greet the convoy.<\/p>\n
Tetiana Leonidivna, 71, thanked the Ukrainian soldiers who helped her flee.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love them, we love them,\u201d she said through tears. \u201cWe know that they are protecting us. And a deep bow to them, and a deep bow to their parents, for having such children. I am proud, I am simply proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ceasefire in Ukraine\u2019s southern Kherson region began early Tuesday and was expected to continue through Sunday evening. The White House has said US first lady Melania Trump helped to broker the localized truce, while Pope Leo XIV pressed Russia and Ukraine to allow aid deliveries and evacuations.<\/p>\n
Evacuees and their families express fear and hope<\/strong><\/p>\n Relatives and volunteers with the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and World Central Kitchen welcomed the evacuees as they arrived at the border, ready to provide aid and food. Crews unloaded crates of pets \u2014 including cats, dogs, a parrot and a raccoon \u2014 from the buses.<\/p>\n Holding a cigarette between shaking fingers, 48-year-old Ivan Yevhenovych described his last months in Oleshky.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very difficult. There were a lot of drones. It was hard to move around the streets,\u201d he said. \u201cSince spring, there hasn\u2019t really been any staple food left. People had a little bit of their own reserves. We are thrifty people.\u201d<\/p>\n He said land mines or drone strikes were killing residents every day.<\/p>\n An estimated 2,000 people remained in Oleshky when the temporary truce took hold. They were offered the choice of evacuating to territory controlled by Ukraine or Russia, or remaining in the city with replenished food and medical supplies.<\/p>\n \u201cMany people stayed behind and didn\u2019t want to leave,\u201d Yevhenovych said. \u201cSome for their houses, some for their animals.\u201d<\/p>\n Ukrainian authorities, seeking to protect those who remained and safeguard future humanitarian missions, have not said how many residents were evacuated from Oleshky and have restricted details of their route. Melania Trump posted on social media Friday that the humanitarian convoy could safely evacuate more than 750 people.<\/p>\n Liza Paliy, 19, waited at the border for her father, whom she last saw more than 2\u00bd years earlier when she fled the occupied city with her mother and sister.<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought at that time that it would be a month, two maximum, and we would return, but unfortunately, two years have already passed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Ukraine and Russia plan more humanitarian missions<\/strong><\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, hailed the humanitarian mission as a win.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an extremely important moment. Behind us are difficult negotiations, agreements, preparations, and an enormous amount of work. But most importantly, the people who waited so long to be rescued are finally safe,\u201d he said in an online post.<\/p>\n Lubinets and Yana Lantratova, Russia\u2019s human rights commissioner, said in separate statements that the two sides agreed to continue working on similar humanitarian missions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mission has concluded, but, unfortunately, living conditions in Oleshky remain extremely difficult,\u201d Lantratova said. \u201cWe will make every effort to support those residents who have made the decision to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n Some Oleshky evacuees who chose to move to Russian-occupied territory were taken to a temporary shelter in Simferopol, Lantratova said. Crimea is a Ukrainian peninsula that Russia annexed in 2014.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter everything they have endured and a long journey, it is essential for these people to rest, recover, and feel cared for. However, support should not be limited to just a roof over their heads and a hot meal,\u201d she said in a social media post.<\/p>\n The US approves Patriot missile sale for Ukraine<\/strong><\/p>\n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday welcomed US approval of his country\u2019s purchase of 500 PAC-3 Patriot interceptors, which are needed to stop Russian ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, the Russians are attacking our energy infrastructure every single day. In just these past two weeks of October, there have already been more than 30 Russian strikes on critical parts of our power grid,\u201d Zelensky wrote on X.<\/p>\n The Trump administration said Friday it has approved the proposed $2.1 billion sale. It remains subject to congressional review.<\/p>\n Additionally, 500 Patriot missiles would be purchased for Ukraine through a US program using donations from Canada, Germany and Norway, the State Department said.<\/p>\n A Ukrainian drone attack kills 2 in Russia<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone attack killed a 30-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man in Russia\u2019s western Bryansk region, local Gov. Yegor Kovalchuk said Saturday. Five others were wounded, he said.<\/p>\n Local officials also reported Ukrainian drone attacks in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan. Russian media outlets said there was a fire in the region\u2019s capital, Ufa, home to several oil refineries.<\/p>\n The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday its forces had shot down 433 Ukrainian drones overnight.<\/p>\n Zelensky said Moscow launched drone attacks on energy and railway infrastructure across Ukraine overnight, leaving 280,000 households in Dnipro and Kyiv regions without power.<\/p>\n The attacks targeted combined heat and power plants in Kyiv and Sumy regions, four electricity substations and a gas distribution facility in the Dnipro region and railway infrastructure in Dnipro and Kharkiv, he said, adding that repair crews were working to restore power.<\/p>\n Zelensky urged partners to impose new sanctions on Russia and continue to support Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cThe world sees Russia targeting civilian infrastructure every day. Everyone who does not want to see this Russian escalation spread further into Europe must help Ukraine,\u201d he said in an online post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n