Ukraine says Russia blocking evacuation from occupied Oleshky as civilians cross minefields to escape
Russia has failed to confirm its readiness for a humanitarian evacuation from the occupied city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, leaving hundreds of civilians in urgent need of help, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said.
Lubinets said Ukraine had agreed on a list of people to be evacuated and developed procedures for the mission, while the International Committee of the Red Cross had expressed readiness to participate.
Ukrainian security and defense forces had also made preparations to observe a ceasefire during the evacuation, he said.
However, according to Lubinets, Russia has still not confirmed that it is prepared to allow the humanitarian mission to proceed.
The ombudsman said his office had received 176 appeals concerning the humanitarian situation in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast, with 358 people urgently needing help to reach safety.
More than 6,000 residents may remain in Oleshky and the surrounding area, including around 200 children, according to Lubinets.
Civilians there face shelling and drone attacks and lack food, drinking water, medicine and other essential supplies, he said.
Some residents have begun trying to escape on their own by walking through mined areas, risking both landmines and drone strikes.
“People are already crossing mined fields on their own because they see no other way out of this hell,” Lubinets said.
Oleshky, located on the Russian-occupied left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, has been under Russian control since the early weeks of the full-scale invasion.