Ukraine news: Evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky reach Kyiv-controlled territory

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https://static.dw.com/image/79817201_6.jpg”]

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The Oleshky truce, which allowed civilians to evacuate, is set to end on SundayImage: Valentyn Ogirenko/REUTERS
Skip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

  • Oleshky civilians arrive in Ukrainian territory from Belarus

  • Ukraine claims it hit a Russian plant producing solid fuel for rockets and missiles

  • Kyiv also reports strikes on military depots in occupied Ukrainian territory

  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul for talks with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Here is a roundup of events from Russia’s war in Ukraine on Saturday, October 31:

Skip next section We’re pausing the blog for today

November 1, 2026

We’re pausing the blog for today

Thank you for joining today. We’ll be back with the latest developments on Sunday.

Edited by:Roshni Majumdar
https://p.dw.com/p/5Ouoz
Skip next section IN PHOTOS: Evacuees reunite with family after fleeing Oleshky

November 1, 2026

IN PHOTOS: Evacuees reunite with family after fleeing Oleshky

Ukraine spent months demanding that Russia allow people to evacuate out of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, after food delivery supplies stopped earlier this year.

Hundreds of people made their way out on Saturday. 

A resident evacuated from the Russian-controlled city of Oleshky during a humanitarian mission attaches a Ukrainian flag to her dog upon arriving at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on October 31, 2026
Residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky crossed into Ukrainian-held territory on Saturday in a major evacuation operation carried out under a US-brokered ceasefire.Image: Genya Savilov/AFP
Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets (C) poses for a photo with residents evacuated from the Russian-controlled city of Oleshky during a humanitarian mission upon arriving at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on October 31, 2026
Evacuees wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags stepped off buses at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border and reunited with family members.Image: Genya Savilov/AFP
An Ukrainian woman evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky
The ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region began early Tuesday and was expected to continue through Sunday evening.Image: Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo/dpa/picture alliance
Edited by:Roshni Majumdar
https://p.dw.com/p/5Ouof
Skip next section Wadephul says Europe and US are ‘on the same side’ on Russia

October 31, 2026

Wadephul says Europe and US are ‘on the same side’ on Russia

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul speaks during a news conference following the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Speaking to the Russian Foreign Minister is not a concession we’re making to Russia, but it is normal to speak,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told DW when asked about normalizing relations with Russia.Image: Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture alliance

At a news conference after the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta, DW correspondent Benjamin Alvarez Gruber asked German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul whether Sergey Lavrov‘s presence and the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin attending the G20 summit in Doral, Florida, in December signaled a normalization of relations with Russia.

Wadephul said the US and European countries were “on the same side.”

“Speaking to the Russian Foreign Minister is not a concession we’re making to Russia, but it is normal to speak,” he said, adding that foreign ministers must be prepared to engage even with adversaries.

“You don’t have to negotiate with partners, but you have to negotiate with somebody who has a different position and who’s somehow also an adversary to freedom and to security in Europe. So it is necessary that we speak, and for that reason I think it was useful,” Wadephul added.

The G20 foreign ministers skipped their traditional family photo at a meeting in Atlanta on Friday, amid objections from several European countries, Australia and Canada to appearing alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Wadephul said: “We are not in a position that it was necessary or useful or a good idea to have a family photo because in the very situation we are in, Russia does not really show an interest to share our values and to share our interests.”

The US State Department removed the photo from the agenda to prevent it from becoming a distraction or a spectacle.

Edited by:Kieran Burke
https://p.dw.com/p/5OufG
Skip next section Zelenskyy in Istanbul for talks on Black Sea shipping

October 31, 2026

Zelenskyy in Istanbul for talks on Black Sea shipping

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Istanbul for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with Black Sea shipping among the issues on the agenda.

“We’re working to strengthen the protection of our people, our bilateral partnership with Türkiye, and real diplomatic prospects,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, using the alternative spelling for Turkey.

The Ukrainian president also plans to meet Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based Orthodox Christian leader.

Edited by:Kieran Burke
https://p.dw.com/p/5Otss
Skip next section US warns Russia of a ‘mass casualty’ plot to attack Moscow

October 31, 2026

US warns Russia of a ‘mass casualty’ plot to attack Moscow

The US embassy in Russia warned there was “a credible threat of a mass casualty event” at a historical site in southern Moscow. 

“The US government is coordinating with appropriate Russian authorities on a response,” the US embassy in Moscow said in a post on X.

The alleged plot would target the Tsaritsyno Museum Reserve, a sprawling complex of palaces and gardens built under the orders of Empress Catherine the Great in the late 18th century.

Russia’s federal law enforcement agency, the FSB, said it received the warning and was doing “appropriate work” in response to it, according to Russian news agencies. 

Edited by:Kieran Burke
https://p.dw.com/p/5OuDe
Skip next section Ukraine says it hit Russian rocket fuel factory

October 31, 2026

Ukraine says it hit Russian rocket fuel factory

A satellite photo of a factory with a Ukrainian-language caption reading 'A strike on a rocket fuel plant' (October 31, 2026)
Ukrainian forces published satellite images showing the alleged impact of their attackImage: Generalstab der Streitkräfte der Ukraine/Telegram

Ukraine‘s military said it struck a factory producing solid rocket fuel in Russia’s Rostov region, setting a warehouse ablaze and damaging four production workshops.

The attack on the Kamensky plant in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky involved drones and Neptune missiles, according to the Ukrainian account.

The military said the plant supplies fuel for ammunition used by Russia’s Uragan, Smerch and Tornado-S multiple-launch rocket systems, as well as other missiles and air-launched weapons.

Ukraine also reported strikes on four Russian military supply depots in occupied parts of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk regions.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Edited by:Kieran Burke
https://p.dw.com/p/5Otqz
Skip next section Ukraine welcomes civilians from Oleshky after complex evacuation effort

October 31, 2026

Ukraine welcomes civilians from Oleshky after complex evacuation effort

A woman draped in a Ukrainian flag ties a similar flag on her dog's back (October 31, 2026)
Ukrainian officials said evacuees brought pets, including dogs, cats, a parrot, and a racoonImage: Genya Savilov/AFP

The first evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky have reached Ukrainian-controlled territory amid a localized ceasefire.

Oleshky, near the front line in the southern Kherson region, has been occupied by Russia since 2022. In recent weeks, the town has faced a severe humanitarian crisis.

Both sides have recently agreed to a localized ceasefire to extract the estimated 2,000 civilians still in Oleshky, down from its pre-invasion population of 24,000.

Moscow and Kyiv credited the US first lady, Melania Trump, with brokering the truce.

Residents were given a choice to go to Russia or travel via Belarus to the part of Ukraine controlled by Kyiv.

Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the initiative required “an enormous amount of work.”

He said evacuees included a 1-year-old baby and a 94-year-old resident of Oleshky. The evacuees brought pets, including dogs, cats, a parrot and a raccoon, according to Lubinets.

He expressed hope that the Oleshky arrangement can be replicated elsewhere.

The truce started on Tuesday and is due to end on Sunday night.

Edited by:Kieran Burke
https://p.dw.com/p/5OtuJ
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage

October 31, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

|

Welcome to DW’s coverage of the latest developments in the Russian war on Ukraine.

You join us as Ukraine welcomes evacuees from Oleshky, a town in the Kherson region that has been occupied by Russia since 2022.

Meanwhile, Kyiv claimed it hit the Kamensky plant in the Rostov region deep inside Russia. The factory produces solid fuel for rockets and missiles.

Stay tuned for the latest news and analysis from the ongoing war.

Edited by:Kieran Burke
https://p.dw.com/p/5Otez
Show more posts
  • Oleshky civilians arrive in Ukrainian territory from Belarus

  • Ukraine claims it hit a Russian plant producing solid fuel for rockets and missiles

  • Kyiv also reports strikes on military depots in occupied Ukrainian territory

  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul for talks with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Here is a roundup of events from Russia’s war in Ukraine on Saturday, October 31:

Oleshky civilians arrive in Ukrainian territory from Belarus

Ukraine claims it hit a Russian plant producing solid fuel for rockets and missiles

Kyiv also reports strikes on military depots in occupied Ukrainian territory

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul for talks with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Here is a roundup of events from Russia’s war in Ukraine on Saturday, October 31:

Thank you for joining today. We’ll be back with the latest developments on Sunday.

Thank you for joining today. We’ll be back with the latest developments on Sunday.

Ukraine spent months demanding that Russia allow people to evacuate out of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, after food delivery supplies stopped earlier this year.

Hundreds of people made their way out on Saturday. 

A resident evacuated from the Russian-controlled city of Oleshky during a humanitarian mission attaches a Ukrainian flag to her dog upon arriving at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on October 31, 2026
Residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky crossed into Ukrainian-held territory on Saturday in a major evacuation operation carried out under a US-brokered ceasefire.Image: Genya Savilov/AFP
Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets (C) poses for a photo with residents evacuated from the Russian-controlled city of Oleshky during a humanitarian mission upon arriving at an undisclosed location in Ukraine on October 31, 2026
Evacuees wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags stepped off buses at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border and reunited with family members.Image: Genya Savilov/AFP
An Ukrainian woman evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky
The ceasefire in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region began early Tuesday and was expected to continue through Sunday evening.Image: Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo/dpa/picture alliance

Ukraine spent months demanding that Russia allow people to evacuate out of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, after food delivery supplies stopped earlier this year.

Hundreds of people made their way out on Saturday. 

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul speaks during a news conference following the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Speaking to the Russian Foreign Minister is not a concession we’re making to Russia, but it is normal to speak,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told DW when asked about normalizing relations with Russia.Image: Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture alliance

At a news conference after the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta, DW correspondent Benjamin Alvarez Gruber asked German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul whether Sergey Lavrov‘s presence and the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin attending the G20 summit in Doral, Florida, in December signaled a normalization of relations with Russia.

Wadephul said the US and European countries were “on the same side.”

“Speaking to the Russian Foreign Minister is not a concession we’re making to Russia, but it is normal to speak,” he said, adding that foreign ministers must be prepared to engage even with adversaries.

“You don’t have to negotiate with partners, but you have to negotiate with somebody who has a different position and who’s somehow also an adversary to freedom and to security in Europe. So it is necessary that we speak, and for that reason I think it was useful,” Wadephul added.

The G20 foreign ministers skipped their traditional family photo at a meeting in Atlanta on Friday, amid objections from several European countries, Australia and Canada to appearing alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Wadephul said: “We are not in a position that it was necessary or useful or a good idea to have a family photo because in the very situation we are in, Russia does not really show an interest to share our values and to share our interests.”

The US State Department removed the photo from the agenda to prevent it from becoming a distraction or a spectacle.

At a news conference after the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta, DW correspondent Benjamin Alvarez Gruber asked German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul whether Sergey Lavrov‘s presence and the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin attending the G20 summit in Doral, Florida, in December signaled a normalization of relations with Russia.

Wadephul said the US and European countries were “on the same side.”

“Speaking to the Russian Foreign Minister is not a concession we’re making to Russia, but it is normal to speak,” he said, adding that foreign ministers must be prepared to engage even with adversaries.

“You don’t have to negotiate with partners, but you have to negotiate with somebody who has a different position and who’s somehow also an adversary to freedom and to security in Europe. So it is necessary that we speak, and for that reason I think it was useful,” Wadephul added.

The G20 foreign ministers skipped their traditional family photo at a meeting in Atlanta on Friday, amid objections from several European countries, Australia and Canada to appearing alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Wadephul said: “We are not in a position that it was necessary or useful or a good idea to have a family photo because in the very situation we are in, Russia does not really show an interest to share our values and to share our interests.”

The US State Department removed the photo from the agenda to prevent it from becoming a distraction or a spectacle.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Istanbul for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with Black Sea shipping among the issues on the agenda.

“We’re working to strengthen the protection of our people, our bilateral partnership with Türkiye, and real diplomatic prospects,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, using the alternative spelling for Turkey.

The Ukrainian president also plans to meet Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based Orthodox Christian leader.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Istanbul for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with Black Sea shipping among the issues on the agenda.

“We’re working to strengthen the protection of our people, our bilateral partnership with Türkiye, and real diplomatic prospects,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, using the alternative spelling for Turkey.

The Ukrainian president also plans to meet Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based Orthodox Christian leader.

The US embassy in Russia warned there was “a credible threat of a mass casualty event” at a historical site in southern Moscow. 

“The US government is coordinating with appropriate Russian authorities on a response,” the US embassy in Moscow said in a post on X.

The alleged plot would target the Tsaritsyno Museum Reserve, a sprawling complex of palaces and gardens built under the orders of Empress Catherine the Great in the late 18th century.

Russia’s federal law enforcement agency, the FSB, said it received the warning and was doing “appropriate work” in response to it, according to Russian news agencies. 

The US embassy in Russia warned there was “a credible threat of a mass casualty event” at a historical site in southern Moscow. 

“The US government is coordinating with appropriate Russian authorities on a response,” the US embassy in Moscow said in a post on X.

The alleged plot would target the Tsaritsyno Museum Reserve, a sprawling complex of palaces and gardens built under the orders of Empress Catherine the Great in the late 18th century.

Russia’s federal law enforcement agency, the FSB, said it received the warning and was doing “appropriate work” in response to it, according to Russian news agencies. 

A satellite photo of a factory with a Ukrainian-language caption reading 'A strike on a rocket fuel plant' (October 31, 2026)
Ukrainian forces published satellite images showing the alleged impact of their attackImage: Generalstab der Streitkräfte der Ukraine/Telegram

Ukraine‘s military said it struck a factory producing solid rocket fuel in Russia’s Rostov region, setting a warehouse ablaze and damaging four production workshops.

The attack on the Kamensky plant in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky involved drones and Neptune missiles, according to the Ukrainian account.

The military said the plant supplies fuel for ammunition used by Russia’s Uragan, Smerch and Tornado-S multiple-launch rocket systems, as well as other missiles and air-launched weapons.

Ukraine also reported strikes on four Russian military supply depots in occupied parts of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk regions.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Ukraine‘s military said it struck a factory producing solid rocket fuel in Russia’s Rostov region, setting a warehouse ablaze and damaging four production workshops.

The attack on the Kamensky plant in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky involved drones and Neptune missiles, according to the Ukrainian account.

The military said the plant supplies fuel for ammunition used by Russia’s Uragan, Smerch and Tornado-S multiple-launch rocket systems, as well as other missiles and air-launched weapons.

Ukraine also reported strikes on four Russian military supply depots in occupied parts of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk regions.

The claims have not been independently verified.

A woman draped in a Ukrainian flag ties a similar flag on her dog's back (October 31, 2026)
Ukrainian officials said evacuees brought pets, including dogs, cats, a parrot, and a racoonImage: Genya Savilov/AFP

The first evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky have reached Ukrainian-controlled territory amid a localized ceasefire.

Oleshky, near the front line in the southern Kherson region, has been occupied by Russia since 2022. In recent weeks, the town has faced a severe humanitarian crisis.

Both sides have recently agreed to a localized ceasefire to extract the estimated 2,000 civilians still in Oleshky, down from its pre-invasion population of 24,000.

Moscow and Kyiv credited the US first lady, Melania Trump, with brokering the truce.

Residents were given a choice to go to Russia or travel via Belarus to the part of Ukraine controlled by Kyiv.

Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the initiative required “an enormous amount of work.”

He said evacuees included a 1-year-old baby and a 94-year-old resident of Oleshky. The evacuees brought pets, including dogs, cats, a parrot and a raccoon, according to Lubinets.

He expressed hope that the Oleshky arrangement can be replicated elsewhere.

The truce started on Tuesday and is due to end on Sunday night.

The first evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky have reached Ukrainian-controlled territory amid a localized ceasefire.

Oleshky, near the front line in the southern Kherson region, has been occupied by Russia since 2022. In recent weeks, the town has faced a severe humanitarian crisis.

Both sides have recently agreed to a localized ceasefire to extract the estimated 2,000 civilians still in Oleshky, down from its pre-invasion population of 24,000.

Moscow and Kyiv credited the US first lady, Melania Trump, with brokering the truce.

Residents were given a choice to go to Russia or travel via Belarus to the part of Ukraine controlled by Kyiv.

Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the initiative required “an enormous amount of work.”

He said evacuees included a 1-year-old baby and a 94-year-old resident of Oleshky. The evacuees brought pets, including dogs, cats, a parrot and a raccoon, according to Lubinets.

He expressed hope that the Oleshky arrangement can be replicated elsewhere.

The truce started on Tuesday and is due to end on Sunday night.

Welcome to DW’s coverage of the latest developments in the Russian war on Ukraine.

You join us as Ukraine welcomes evacuees from Oleshky, a town in the Kherson region that has been occupied by Russia since 2022.

Meanwhile, Kyiv claimed it hit the Kamensky plant in the Rostov region deep inside Russia. The factory produces solid fuel for rockets and missiles.

Stay tuned for the latest news and analysis from the ongoing war.

Welcome to DW’s coverage of the latest developments in the Russian war on Ukraine.

You join us as Ukraine welcomes evacuees from Oleshky, a town in the Kherson region that has been occupied by Russia since 2022.

Meanwhile, Kyiv claimed it hit the Kamensky plant in the Rostov region deep inside Russia. The factory produces solid fuel for rockets and missiles.

Stay tuned for the latest news and analysis from the ongoing war.

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