WFP provides emergency food aid to more than 400 Oleshky evacuees after a Kherson ceasefire

The UN World Food Programme is providing emergency food assistance to more than 400 people who left the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, in Ukraine’s Kherson region, during a brief local ceasefire, the agency said.

The sequence was narrow: a pause, an exit, then food at the point of arrival. Many reached medical facilities in Kyiv on 31 October 2026 in worrying condition after being trapped by fighting and enduring months of severe shortages of food, medical supplies, and other basic necessities, the agency said. Working with its national partner Iskra Dobra, a Ukrainian humanitarian NGO, WFP supplied hot meals as soon as the evacuees arrived and will continue that support for an initial two weeks. The emergency food assistance is funded by the United States. UN News. WFP had previously tried to support people still inside Oleshky but had not been granted access.

WFP Executive Director Luke J. Lindberg said that for people who had endured months of fear, isolation, and deprivation, the humanitarian pause offered a chance to reach safety and receive the help they need. He recognized the role of US First Lady Melania Trump in helping to broker the ceasefire and expressed hope that it could open the door to sustained humanitarian access.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said the evacuation window, which ended on Sunday, shows what is possible when parties put civilians first. He noted that aid had been delivered to Oleshky at last, described the moment as respite at last for so many, and thanked First Lady Melania Trump and all involved.

More evacuees are expected, and the agency said it stands ready to scale up its assistance. A neat reading would treat the pause as a lasting corridor; that reading would fail if access closes again before further departures can be fed and moved.