Residents of Oleshky who decide to leave for territory controlled by Ukraine will be transported to Belarus via Russian town of Anapa, – Fox News. DOCUMENT
Residents of Oleshky in the Kherson region who express a wish to be evacuated to territory controlled by Ukraine will first be taken to Anapa in Russia, and from there — by a military transport aircraft of the Russian Ministry of Defence — to Belarus. Only after that will they be able to enter Ukraine.
This was reported by the American television channel Fox News, which published extracts from the signed documents, according to Censor.NET.
Logistics via Russia and Belarus
In the report, the document describing the evacuation route is referred to as the Oleshky ceasefire agreement. It was signed on 23 October by the Ukrainian and Russian ombudsmen.
Excerpts from the agreement suggest that residents of Oleshky will be offered the choice of whether they wish to leave for Ukrainian territory.
"It is envisaged that on 31 October 2026, a Ukrainian delegation (D.V. Lubinets, two representatives of the Office of the Commissioner (of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights – ed.), two representatives of the Ukrainian media, a representative of the Office of the Human Rights Commissioner in the Russian Federation, and a representative of the group coordinating the humanitarian mission for citizens wishing to leave for Ukraine, will depart from the city of Anapa (Vityazevo Airport) to Gomel Airport in the Republic of Belarus", the document states.
Further humanitarian missions
The document also states that "the outcome of this humanitarian mission will be a further agreement between the Russian and Ukrainian sides on the systematic delivery of humanitarian aid, food, medicines and the organisation of repatriation operations in settlements in the Kherson region at least once a month, with the support and coordination of US First Lady Melania Trump".
Melania Trump’s mediation
According to Fox News, which cites Melania Trump’s chief adviser Mark Beckman, the US First Lady learnt of the situation in Oleshky during the week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.
Her team initially approached Ukraine to ask whether Kyiv was prepared to grant her the status of ‘exclusive mediator’ with the Russian Federation in this matter.
Following written confirmation from Ukraine, the First Lady’s team approached the Kremlin and received a letter from the Russian dictator Putin agreeing to Melania Trump’s mediation .
In subsequent negotiations, according to Beckman, Melania Trump communicated with both Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At the same time, it is emphasised that the White House National Security Council did not take part in these talks.
According to Fox News, Melania Trump and her adviser studied maps, transport routes and satellite imagery from both sides: they coordinated the types of military equipment in the ceasefire zone, the evacuation of civilians and even specialised vehicles for transporting the bodies of the dead that might be found along the way.
"We know all the military equipment that will be sent there. We’ve even got as far as organising refrigerated containers for the bodies that will be there. It will be a very unpleasant situation," said Beckman.
It is noted that the plan for the humanitarian mission was drawn up with hourly details.
What led up to this
- The office of US First Lady Melania Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to temporarily cease all hostilities in Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, from 29 October to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the preparation of the evacuation of civilians via a safe corridor.
- Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Russian dictator, stated that the military were coordinating the terms of a ceasefire in the area of Oleshky in the Kherson region, which is occupied by Russia.
- Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov stated that, in connection with the humanitarian operation in the Russian-occupied Oleshky area of the Kherson region, a ceasefire is being implemented in this sector.
- Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada’s Commissioner for Human Rights, confirmed the statement by US First Lady Melania Trump regarding the launch of a humanitarian mission in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region.
- Ukraine is implementing a ceasefire in the area of Oleshky in the Kherson region, which is temporarily occupied by Russia, from 03:00 on 27 October to allow a humanitarian operation to take place.
- The ceasefire in Oleshky will remain in place until 10.59 pm on 1 November.
