Oleshky humanitarian mission completed: residents able to leave for both Russian and Ukrainian sides

Russia's human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova announced on October 30 that the humanitarian mission in the town of Oleshky in Kherson region had been completed. According to her, the town's residents were able to leave freely for both the Russian and the Ukrainian side.

Ukraine's human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said that all Oleshky residents who wanted to go to Ukrainian-controlled territory were able to do so. According to him, humanitarian aid was also delivered to those who decided to stay in the town.

Lubinets described the evacuation as follows: "People do not take large suitcases with them onto the buses; separate transport is provided for that. People handed them in and received tags. Everything works perfectly. Data is registered very quickly. There are staff from both the Russian structure and my staff, who check whether there is enough room for everyone. When people who had not registered came, they were also given the opportunity."

According to Lubinets, not a single violation of the ceasefire was recorded during the humanitarian mission; the ceasefire has lasted for more than 87 hours and the Ukrainian delegation is returning home. He said the experience of the Oleshky mission could be extended to other settlements with similar living conditions and praised the high professionalism of Lantratova's team.

Myroslava Kharchenko, chief lawyer of the Ukrainian charity Save Ukraine, said the mission had declared that residents without documents would also be taken out. According to her, many families do not have documents confirming their kinship with their children, because these documents may have been lost, including in the flooding that followed the blowing up of the hydroelectric dam.

The ceasefire in Oleshky began at 03:00 Kyiv time on October 27 and was set to last until 22:59 on November 1. The negotiations were conducted by Lubinets on the Ukrainian side and by Lantratova on the Russian side; Lubinets thanked US First Lady Melania Trump and her team for their involvement. The mission consisted of three stages: ensuring a ceasefire, delivering humanitarian aid to the town and guaranteeing civilians free passage out of the town.

Oleshky lies on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson region and has been under Russian control since 2022. Before the war the town had about 24,000 inhabitants; according to White House estimates, 1,700–2,000 people, including about 50 children, remained in the town. The town was flooded after the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam was destroyed in June 2023, and at the end of September this year about 4,000 kg of food was delivered there by drones.