500 people expected to leave Oleshky as mine clearing begins

Myroslava Kharchenko, a lawyer with the Save Ukraine Foundation, reports that the evacuation process for the isolated town of Oleshky is moving from planning to action following a ceasefire that took effect at 3 a.m. on October 27. The agreement, which ended the daily fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Kherson region, allowed mine-clearing teams to begin working on the main access road by 8 a.m. local time. While the military maintains strict control over operations inside the town, civilian organizers have started gathering data from the roughly 2,000 people still trapped in the community.

The primary challenge facing the evacuation is the physical state of the town, which has been cut off from the outside world since Russian forces occupied it in 2022. The destruction of the nearby Kakhovka dam in 2023 compounded the isolation by flooding surrounding areas, while mines placed on all access routes sealed the exit. Former residents who managed to flee have described conditions of severe hunger, a lack of electricity, and no access to clean water or medicine. These conditions have left many of the remaining inhabitants physically vulnerable, including those recovering from blast and mine-related wounds.

Kharchenko explains that organizers are using closed local chat groups to collect registration lists and application forms. Because communication signals are unreliable in the area, residents are asked to provide contact details for neighbors or relatives living in the same building to ensure someone can account for them. The team is also compiling a list of medical needs, identifying individuals with limited mobility or recent injuries. This data will help determine how medical assistance is staged for the first group of evacuees, who are expected to number around 500 people.

The route for the evacuation remains under strict military secrecy, though Kharchenko notes that a river crossing is considered too dangerous due to the Dnipro River conditions. The likely path involves traveling through temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory and potentially through Russia before reaching Ukrainian government-controlled zones. This staged approach is designed to build trust, as many residents remain suspicious of previous failed attempts to establish humanitarian corridors. Organizers hope that the successful departure of the first group will encourage others to sign up in subsequent waves.

The logistics extend beyond moving living civilians. Kharchenko points out that a hospital within Oleshky requires the evacuation of patients, and a nearby morgue holds bodies that need to be identified and examined. Determining the causes of death is a critical part of the humanitarian effort, but it requires time and careful handling that cannot be rushed. The Save Ukraine Foundation has already rescued at least 300 civilians over the past six months, and it credits international attention, including efforts by Melania Trump, for helping to push this specific evacuation forward. The process will continue in phases, with no fixed timeline for when the final residents will leave the combat zone.

Both the Russian and Ukrainian sides have issued cautious statements about the operation, emphasizing the need for silence to protect the safety of those involved. The mine-clearing process on the external roads is the immediate prerequisite for any movement, but internal streets also require inspection. As residents fill out their forms and organizers verify dates of birth and addresses, the focus remains on creating a secure path for the first 500 evacuees to cross into Ukrainian territory.