From Home to Home: How the Humanitarian Mission in Oleshky Unfolded and What Prospects It Opens Up

Sofia Troshchuk, a journalist and anchor for 24 Channel, was among those who welcomed the residents of Oleshky – rescued from the Russian trap – back to free Ukrainian soil.

Sofia also covered the major press conference held by Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets after the return of the rescued residents.

She compiled what she saw and heard into a single comprehensive report. In it, 24 Channel summarizes the story of this unique humanitarian mission, which was carried out with the mediation of the First Lady of the United States, and asks – Can the example of the rescue of Oleshky’s residents serve as a foundation for future peace initiatives and further special operations to evacuate residents of frontline territories?

Key Players

Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets explained at a press conference just how laborious the planning of the operation was from the Ukrainian side.

Here and below, we refer to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets’ press conference, public chronology of events, and official comments from officials and politicians from three countries: Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.

In early 2026, Lubinets learned from relatives of Oleshky residents about the critical situation in the occupied city. At that time, the Ombudsman reached out to international organizations with letters and requests to help organize an evacuation.

The most productive collaboration was with Melania Trump’s team. Collaboration with the First Lady of the United States had begun earlier: she helped return a group of abducted Ukrainian children in the fall of 2025. This fall, with her assistance, 34 Ukrainian children were reunited with their families.

In September 2026, the Ombudsman’s team continued to communicate with representatives of Melania Trump, and it was they who requested information regarding the situation in Oleshky, after which they proposed creating a trilateral group to conduct negotiations.

Mark Beckman, a representative and senior advisor to the First Lady, was in contact with the Ukrainian team, at times “dozens of times a day.” He is an American marketing specialist, advertising executive, producer, and founder of the advertising agency DMA United.

On the Ukrainian side, the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, headed by Dmytro Lubinets, provided extensive public coverage of the situation. On the Russian side, Lubinets’ counterpart was Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova.

A number of Ukrainian institutions were involved in planning the mission: the Office of the President, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and others. To establish a safe route for leaving the temporarily occupied territories (TOT), they also spoke with residents of Oleshky who had left earlier; these residents shared how they had managed to evacuate from the city on their own.

Rescue Plan

The humanitarian mission officially began on October 27 at 3:00 a.m. It concluded on November 1 at 10:59 p.m. The ceasefire lasted 5 days, 19 hours, and 59 minutes.

Dmytro Lubinets stated that both Russia and Ukraine fulfilled all their commitments. Although reports circulated online that the Russians were violating the ceasefire and moving in military equipment, Lubinets says this could be military equipment used specifically for demining.

An official ceasefire was declared in the Oleshky area and surrounding settlements starting at 3:00 a.m. on October 27.

Melania Trump’s post about the “ceasefire” and the start of the humanitarian operation:

The first two days were spent thoroughly clearing the logistics routes leading to the city of Oleshky – arguably the most heavily mined area in the occupied south. All major highways, logistics routes, and dirt roads leading from the city and surrounding villages were heavily littered with mines.

People in Oleshky (with whom contact was established, in particular, through relatives living in territories controlled by Ukraine) requested three types of assistance:

Humanitarian aid

For those who wanted to stay in Oleshky. Humanitarian aid was prepared for them: food, water, medicine, fuel for generators, and equipment for the hospital, which continues to operate. The Ombudsman confirmed that he had inspected these shipments.

Evacuation to territory controlled by Ukraine

There are a number of reasons why people were afraid to leave. First, the territory is heavily mined by Russian troops. Second, screening at Russian checkpoints and borders. There were also those who simply hesitated until the very last moment to leave their homes. Because it’s home, and home is so much more than just three letters strung together. We in Ukraine know this all too well now.

Evacuation to Russia

Some of those who boarded Russian buses were heading deeper into the occupied south – to their families.

The U.S. has also sent journalists from Newsmax to Ukraine. American citizens were with the Ukrainian team the entire time. Looking back, it’s clear that their reporting was cautious and did not play into the hands of Russian propaganda, as some people had feared.

For example, TV host Shelby Wilder, although she was not physically in Oleshky, coordinated broadcasts and provided analytical segments from Kyiv.

She immediately warned the American audience that the Kremlin would try to use the humanitarian mission as a “propaganda opportunity.” She emphasized that Russia seeks to portray itself as a “savior” of civilians, even though it was Russia itself that occupied the city, destroyed it, and plunged its residents into a severe humanitarian crisis.

Evacuation

After sorting out all the details and mustering up the courage (or perhaps sheer desperation), the Ukrainian delegation from Kyiv set off for Belarus. From Gomel, they flew to Anapa, then traveled by car to Simferopol. They arrived in Crimea very late. They held technical meetings, and at 3:00 a.m. on Friday, October 30, they set off for Oleshky.

Footage from the temporarily occupied town of Oleshky caused a stir on Ukrainian social media. Some were outraged by how few Ukrainian journalists were present. Some didn’t like the Ombudsman’s attire. Others wondered whether the Russians should be trusted (no, they definitely shouldn’t). Many criticized the conciliatory tone of Lubinets’ conversation with representatives of the aggressor country.

The Human Rights Commissioner himself maintains that adhering to the norms of diplomacy and courtesy offers a better chance of achieving tangible results for Ukrainian citizens, particularly during evacuations and negotiations regarding prisoners of war.

On the ground, Lubinets says, they spoke with locals and delivered humanitarian aid. They sought out those who volunteered to be evacuated “on the spot” – taking everyone they could “after discussions” with the Russian side (apparently, not all details were included in the plan drawn up the day before, so they had to negotiate).

Repatriation efforts were also carried out. They transported the bodies of deceased citizens – both military personnel and civilians – from the Oleshky morgue and surrounding areas. Now, says Lubinets, an agreement has been reached that all bodies whose relatives reside in Ukraine will be brought here.

In total, the humanitarian convoy consisted of 25 buses with 750 seats, vans, and more than a dozen ambulances. However, according to various reports, 21 buses were filled, while four others returned empty.

Dmytro Lubinets’ post:

Some people reportedly changed their minds at the last minute, while others deliberately chose to stay in Oleshky after receiving humanitarian aid, medicine, and food that had been prepared on site. Furthermore, Dmytro Lubinets explains, some people could not be evacuated: some had serious health issues and might have had a very difficult time enduring the journey – that was the medical professionals’ verdict.

Some of those willing to leave could not be taken for other reasons – such as, for example, a woman caring for 70 animals. Lubinets admitted: he would have liked to evacuate everyone, but priority was given to people.

Since the approved logistics route ran through the occupied Ukrainian Crimea and the Russian city of Anapa, some people categorically refused to travel through enemy territory out of fear of being screened by Russian special services.

On the way from Oleshky, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and his team stopped on the side of the road to pick up people from the southern temporarily occupied territories. They stood right by the road holding signs that read “evacuation” and were desperate to escape the territories that Russia had turned into a living hell. Although this was not part of the agreements with the Russian side, these people were successfully brought to Ukraine.

The meetings and conversations lasted several hours; once the convoy was formed, having picked up (not) everyone who wanted to go, it set off. This was a retracing of the route the Ukrainian team had already taken, only in the opposite direction: through Crimea to Anapa, and from there by plane to Gomel, Belarus.

Dmytro Lubinets explains the choice of such a long and complicated route by citing warnings from Ukrainian defense forces and special services: Dnipro is literally on the front line, so the ombudsman was immediately cautioned not to be swayed by the occupiers’ proposals to clear this critical section of landmines. So the journey turned out to be very long and risky.

It’s very hard to compare: in peacetime, such a route across the Dnipro would be 9 kilometers long. Instead, the people from Oleshky traveled approximately 2,200 kilometers through the temporarily occupied territories, Russia, and Belarus to reach the Chernihiv region from the other side.

But they successfully crossed the state border. Everyone who set out on this dangerous journey arrived in Ukraine from the north safe and sound.

From Home to Home

On a rainy Saturday afternoon, October 31, the convoy pulled into a small clearing near the state border. Many Ukrainians may recognize this scene from similar “images” – it is precisely where freed Ukrainian prisoners of war are welcomed.

This time, the emotions were similar: relatives had come to welcome some of the Oleshky residents. You can watch 24 Channel's report right here and hear the testimonies of people who managed to escape from Oleshky.

There are scenes of the heartwarming reunion between Zhanna and her husband Mykhailo, who is hugging their daughters. It was the family’s first reunion in two years, and the first time in such a long time that the father had hugged his daughters.

For two years, Zhanna wore two wedding rings: hers and her husband’s. On Saturday, October 31, she was finally able to take one off and give it back to her beloved. He had finally managed to leave the occupied town of Oleshky. Images of Mykhailo, Zhanna, and their daughters – Liza and Dasha – hugging each other went viral around the world. So did the slightly sad smiles of several hundred other people who managed to escape the city, where the Russians had artificially created a humanitarian catastrophe.

A daughter waits to be reunited with her father, who is being evacuated from Oleshky:

Ms. Iryna met her godfather, Uncle Mykola. He said wistfully that “if it were up to him, he wouldn’t have left Oleshky.” Because this is home. And it’s hard to leave home.

The first reunion after a long separation:

Mr. Ivan sent his regards to 24 Channel host Kateryna Solyar. Later, I ran to the bus, which was about to leave, to pass on Kateryna’s greetings to Mr. Ivan and his wife, Galina.

Greetings to Kateryna Solyar from a viewer in Oleshky, Mr. Ivan:

Long before the arrival of the Oleshky residents, tents had been set up: people could eat, warm up, receive emergency medical care, or call their loved ones. Rows of food were thoughtfully arranged for the cats and dogs that had also been evacuated from Oleshky.

UAnimals volunteers took care of some of the four-legged residents of Oleshky. But not all of them, because one cat was brazenly stolen by Belarusian propagandists (an unexpected but quite logical twist in this story). We hope that the cat, Eva, can be returned to her owners.

Lukashenko’s subordinates are bragging about stealing a Ukrainian cat:

Here’s what really happened:

Later, when it got dark, the people of Oleshky were greeted by residents of Chernihiv. They stood on the side of the road, waving flags and flashlights. This moment was perhaps the most touching of all: strangers came out to greet people they had never met before. Because we are all family when it comes to Ukraine.

Return to Free Soil:

These are just a few stories out of the hundreds that remain untold. Exhausted from the journey, the people first went to Kyiv for rehabilitation, and then some of them headed to relatives (in Ukraine and abroad), while the Ombudsman’s Office promised to take care of the others.

What’s Next

This humanitarian mission is one of a kind. In general, many aspects of the Russia-Ukraine war can be described as unique.

Take, for example, prisoner-of-war exchanges. According to standard international practice and the Geneva Conventions, the mass return of prisoners of war typically occurs only after hostilities have ended and a peace treaty has been signed. Here, however, exchanges are conducted regularly.

And according to investigations by international media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, a unique direct and secret communication channel has been operating continuously between Ukraine and Russia since the spring of 2022 to coordinate these exchanges. Despite the complete absence of official diplomatic relations, regular mutual accusations, and daily shelling, this humanitarian bridge has already allowed for the return of more than 10,000 military personnel from both sides.

The evacuation of civilians from Oleshky is an absolutely unique phenomenon: in global military history, there have been virtually no similar precedents – where, amid fierce, high-intensity fighting, a multi-day ceasefire is declared to evacuate people via a convoluted, circuitous route through third countries.

Moreover, the humanitarian mission led to the first large-scale “ceasefire” for civilians since 2022. Previously, Russia had systematically disrupted and shelled any humanitarian corridors both before and after the start of the full-scale invasion. Oleshky marked the first instance in which the parties not only agreed to but also fully observed a 140-hour absolute ceasefire.

During this time, the Ukrainian military also evacuated 167 civilians on the right bank of the Kherson region. These were settlements along the Dnipro River that had been subjected to daily shelling by the Russian army. Those who had previously been unable to leave the dangerous areas were able to depart. This included 167 civilians, among whom were 22 children and 21 people with limited mobility.

Despite the absence of shelling, the operation on the right bank was also extremely dangerous. The military transported people along heavily mined and destroyed roads, maneuvering between wrecked military vehicles and burned-out civilian cars.

Unfortunately, there is one bitter “but” to this story: the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also reported that the Russians used the humanitarian pause to fortify their positions. Our military personnel and journalists documented the rotation of Russian units, the fortification of positions, the expansion of anti-drone measures along the roads, and the buildup of logistics, particularly the delivery of ammunition.

A post by journalist Azad Safarov exposing Russian treachery:

Therefore, life will certainly not get any easier for residents of the southern territories: instead, immediately after the “ceasefire” ended, the enemy began shelling territories controlled by Ukraine.

Dmytro Lubinets assures us that these agreements were purely humanitarian, not political. So it’s hard to say right now whether such a mission could serve as a model for future agreements or initiatives.

Regarding the humanitarian aspects, both Lubinets and even the Russian woman Lantratova have called on the First Lady of the United States to continue supporting such missions. They are asking Melania to help organize regular humanitarian missions (at least monthly) to deliver aid and evacuate civilians from frontline and occupied settlements (in particular from Oleshky in the Kherson region, as there are still people willing to stay there).

However, Putin's administration has rejected the idea of new ceasefires following the example of Oleshky. Peskov called this evacuation an “exception.”

Meanwhile, Melania Trump is bringing together representatives from Ukraine and Russia at the White House on November 5. The First Lady of the United States will deliver a speech about the humanitarian mission in Oleshky, Kherson Oblast. She has already expressed hope that the ceasefire during the evacuation will become the “foundation for lasting peace” between the countries.

Humanitarian missions may resume with U.S. support. In addition, the next round of talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the United States at the working-group level is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11. The success in Oleshky may create a favorable psychological atmosphere for further talks, but it is unlikely to lead to a comprehensive peace in the short term.

Russia has still not abandoned its goal – the occupation of the entire country. Cold and hunger still prevail in Oleshky, caused precisely by the Russian Federation’s occupation and aggression. Moreover, a number of experts emphasize that Putin may have agreed to a ceasefire solely to “play along” with Trump ahead of the by-elections.

It is unclear how events will unfold from here on out – particularly because international players are pursuing their own, often cynical, interests. One thing is certain: Ukrainians are doing things unprecedented in world history to bring their people home.