Hundreds from Russian-occupied Oleshky land in Belarus en route to Ukraine

Four planes carrying the evacuees arrived in the southeastern Belarusian town of Gomel on Saturday, where rescue workers, medical teams and Red Cross volunteers were waiting to assist them. From there, they were due to be transported to Ukrainian territory "within hours," according to Ukrainian parliament member David Arakhamia.

The civilians from Oleshky, which has suffered from major food and medicine shortages after years of fighting, began the journey out of their region in bus convoys on Friday. The evacuation was offered to approximately 2,000 residents, who were given the choice of travelling to Ukrainian- or Russian-held territory, or remaining in the city with replenished supplies.

Evacuation Process

Those travelling to Ukraine were first bused to the Russian city of Anapa on the Black Sea before being flown to Belarus. Al Jazeera's Yulia Shapovalova reported that "more than a dozen buses took them to Anapa" and then they spent several hours flying to Gomel.

The evacuees, including many children and elderly people, were waiting to head to the Novaya Guta checkpoint at the Ukraine-Belarus border. Al Jazeera's Audrey MacAlpine reported that "a lot of preparation" was underway with food, medical care, and a large media presence.

There's food, there's medical care, and, as we understand, this preparation has been going on for almost a week.

Alternative Destinations

Russia's ombudswoman Yana Lantratova confirmed that buses also transported Oleshky residents who wanted to live in Russia. Those residents were first taken to a temporary accommodation centre in Simferopol in the Crimea region. "We're waiting for information on where and when they're going to be taken next," Shapovalova reported.

Melania Trump posted on Friday that the humanitarian convoy could safely evacuate more than 750 people, though Russia and Ukraine have not specified how many people chose to leave the city.

Continuing Conflict

Despite the Oleshky truce, Moscow and Kyiv continued to trade attacks elsewhere. The governor of Russia's Bryansk region reported that a Ukrainian drone killed two people and injured five in Klimovo on Saturday.

Zelenskyy welcomed the US approval of Kyiv's purchase of 500 PAC-3 Patriot interceptors but warned that equipment could take years to deliver. "The United States, our European partners, and other partners around the world have sufficient stocks of PAC-3 interceptors in their warehouses," he urged allies to supply those existing interceptors immediately.