Hundreds Evacuated From Russian-Occupied Oleshky to Belarus Under Melania Trump-Brokered Truce

Hundreds of residents of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky were evacuated under a localized ceasefire that the White House says first lady Melania Trump helped broker. Four planes carrying evacuees landed in Gomel, Belarus, on Saturday, Ukrainian lawmaker David Arakhamia said, and the group was to be taken on to Ukrainian-controlled territory within hours. Belarusian state media said rescue workers, medical teams and Red Cross volunteers met them. The evacuation began Friday with bus convoys, and the truce is expected to last through Sunday. Russia's human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova, said 25 buses with 750 seats, nine ambulances and more than 50 medical staff were ready, and the routes had been cleared of mines. About 2,000 residents could go to Ukrainian- or Russian-held areas or stay with restocked food and medicine. Melania Trump said more than 750 people could be safely evacuated, and Pope Leo XIV was also involved. Ukrainian officials called it one of the most significant pauses in fighting since the full-scale invasion more than four and a half years ago.

Newsmax, the right-leaning outlet, leads with the evacuees' arrival in Belarus on their way to Ukrainian territory and calls it a major rescue operation under the most significant truce of the war. Its visible headline and excerpt do not mention Melania Trump. CNN and NBC News, on the left, put her name in their headlines. NBC adds the Pope's role, Russian missile strikes on other cities, and residents' fears, voiced to Sky News, that the route through Russia and Belarus might not lead them into Ukraine. All sides agree on the scale of the operation and its status as a rare truce. Al Jazeera attributes the brokering to the White House and notes that the numbers who left were unspecified, while The Times of India cites three planes.