Four aircraft carrying people evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky landed in Gomel, Belarus, on Saturday, Ukrainian lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia said, marking a new step in a humanitarian operation to move civilians away from the southern Ukrainian city.
In a public post Saturday morning, Arakhamia said the fourth and final aircraft had arrived. He said the evacuated Ukrainian citizens and the Ukrainian delegation were expected to reach Ukrainian territory within a few hours.
His statement confirmed the aircraft’s arrival in Belarus, not the completion of the onward journey into Ukraine. It did not provide a total number of evacuees.
A transit stop on the journey
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, also described Belarus as a transit point in remarks at Gomel airport.
In comments carried by Belarusian state broadcaster CTV, Lubinets thanked the Belarusian side for its assistance. He said the Ukrainian citizens taken out of Oleshky with the Russian side the previous day had expressed a wish to travel to Ukraine, and that their route passed through Belarus.
The two statements establish that the evacuation had moved beyond preparations and into the transport of residents through Gomel. Neither statement establishes how many people had reached Ukraine by the time of publication.
A limited humanitarian operation
The White House announced earlier this month that first lady Melania Trump had helped secure a localized ceasefire intended to permit aid deliveries and prepare civilian evacuations from Oleshky.
That announcement described residents being offered support to travel to their preferred destination. It characterized the operation as a temporary humanitarian arrangement, not an agreement to end the wider war.
Saturday’s update concerns the evacuees’ journey through Belarus. Their onward arrival in Ukraine, the final number of people moved and the completion of the broader mission require further confirmation.
JBizNews Desk | Gomel, Belarus
© JBizNews.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution is strictly prohibited.
