US First Lady Melania Trump on Saturday issued a statement after four planes carrying residents evacuated from the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Oleshky landed in Belarus on Saturday.
The local ceasefire in Oleshky was reached thanks to mediation efforts by US first lady Melania Trump and with the pope’s involvement.
In a statement posted on her social media account, Melania Trump said, “Oleshky proves we can raise humanity above war. Together we can build a peaceful planet, a world f promise for our children.”
Hundreds of starving and exhausted residents left the town of Oleshky on Friday during a US-backed local ceasefire, the first of its kind and the longest humanitarian pause in the war, which is nearing its fifth year.
“The last, fourth plane landed in Gomel,” said David Arakhamia, a top Ukrainian peace negotiator and close ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“In a few hours, all Ukrainian citizens evacuated from Oleshky together with a Ukrainian delegation will be on Ukrainian territory.”
A convoy of buses carrying the residents had departed from the airport in Gomel, in southeastern Belarus near the border with Ukraine.
The evacuees leaving for Ukraine had to take a complicated route to leave Oleshky as the frontline runs just a few kilometres away.
They first travelled by bus via Crimea to the Russian town of Anapa before flying to Belarus from where they will continue to Ukraine via a border crossing.
