Ukrainian Man Reunites With Wife After Four-Year Occupation

Serhiy Ryndova, a 68-year-old Ukrainian man, reunited with his wife, Larysa Ryndova, in Kyiv after being trapped for four and a half years in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky. The couple had been separated in 2022 when Larysa fled to England to live with their son.

Serhiy described Oleshky as a "zone of death" marked by drone attacks, landmines, and a humanitarian crisis. He reported that food deliveries ceased in April 2026 and that bodies accumulated in the local morgue.

Following a ceasefire brokered by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV, Serhiy was evacuated on October 30. He traveled through Russia and Belarus by bus and plane before meeting Larysa outside a hospital in Kyiv. The couple now plans to return to Britain to reunite with their children and grandchildren.