Agreement to evacuate approximately 6,000 people from Oleshky
According to Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine and Russia have agreed on the technical details of a potential evacuation of approximately 6,000 civilians—including children—from the Oleshky area. They are now awaiting the date of the ceasefire to begin the process of transporting people to safe areas. Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, made this statement during a press conference following the presentation of the project “Made in Russia. Taken Captive.”
According to Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Ukraine and the Russian side have agreed on the technical details of a potential evacuation of civilians from the Oleshky area, where an estimated 6,000 people, including children, may be located. The key next step is to set a date for a ceasefire, after which the physical evacuation of residents can begin.
Lubinec announced this during a press conference, commenting on the results of negotiations that took place on May 15 and concerned not only Oleshky but also several surrounding settlements. According to him, the parties discussed a logistical model for the evacuation and agreed on an option that, in the Ukrainian side’s view, can be implemented as soon as possible provided that hostilities cease. “Regarding Oleshky, we held negotiations on May 15… We are talking about the evacuation of approximately 6,000 Ukrainian civilians, including, according to our information, 200 Ukrainian children who are there,” Lubinets noted.
He clarified that the evacuation is planned in several stages: first, people are to be transported from dangerous areas to a relatively safe zone, after which the Ukrainian side will take them in and return them to government-controlled territory. It is separately emphasized that the final route and mechanisms for movement depend on the security situation and the agreement on a ceasefire.
The Ombudsman also described the situation in Oleshky as critical, noting that civilians are effectively living in basements, under constant threat of shelling and drone attacks. According to him, there is an acute shortage of food and drinking water there, and the humanitarian situation has remained extremely dire for a long time. “Every day, people there are not just at risk of dying—it happens every day… food has practically run out, and there is not enough drinking water,” Lubinets said, adding that the situation is effectively a humanitarian disaster.
He noted that the first requests regarding the evacuation of civilians from this area were sent back in early March to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Russian side. At the same time, he said, due to the further escalation of hostilities, the situation has only worsened, and it is currently impossible to accurately assess the number of civilian casualties.
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