The evacuation of Ukrainian civilians in Oleshky, caught on camera by Moscow

Yesterday, the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Kyrylo Budanov, announced that the humanitarian operation brokered last week by the US First Lady, Melania Trump, in the town of Oleshky had officially begun: “Transport has been arranged for residents wishing to evacuate to Ukraine, and humanitarian aid has also been delivered to the town”. The route for the displaced people involves crossing Russian-occupied territory to reach the town of Anapa in southern Russia, boarding a Russian government aircraft bound for Gomel in Belarus, and then crossing the border by car to reach the Chernihiv region in Ukraine. On the Ukrainian side, the operation is being co-ordinated by the Verkhovna Rada’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets – the first Ukrainian official since the start of the war to visit a Ukrainian region occupied by the Russians – who said this evening that everyone wishing to leave Oleshky had been given the opportunity to do so “and are now on their way to Ukraine. Humanitarian aid has been delivered. The convoys split up and no violations were reported’. Standing beside him, nodding in agreement, was Yana Lantratova, the Russian Commissioner for Human Rights, who travelled to the city under Russian occupation accompanied by around 50 journalists, including four Americans from Newsmax, who for days had done nothing but praise Melania Trump and who, just a few hours before the start of the operation, had expressed her “deepest gratitude to our troops”, the very same troops who have been holding the city hostage since April 2022, “who are risking their lives to clear the area of mines and ensure the safety of this humanitarian mission”. In addition to Melania, Lantratova thanked the Russian Ministry of Defence, the security services and the regional and local authorities, “without whose work the mission in Oleshky would be impossible”.

To witness the evacuation of the city, the Kremlin has invited several foreign journalists, and in the days leading up to it began laying the groundwork to turn the humanitarian truce into an opportunity for self-congratulation in front of American cameras: According to reports from residents, all the streets have been cleaned up, the pavements repainted, and the Starlink terminals neatly stowed away, whilst rubbish and corpses have been removed for the first time in months. Rick Sanchez, a former CNN presenter who now works for Russia Today, turned up in Oleshky to parrot Moscow’s propaganda, arguing that “all aspects of the story must be taken into account”, and therefore also the Ukrainians’ faults, such as “the floods and attacks on ambulances”. To announce the completion of the procedures for the humanitarian convoy’s departure, Melania Trump shared a tweet by Lantratova, which in turn featured a video from Russia Today: “Over 750 people are voluntarily choosing to leave Oleshky. This involves 25 buses, 50 medical professionals and ambulances. Our top priority is to save lives and help everyone, whilst ensuring all safety measures are observed.”