The bodies of deceased military personnel and civilians have been removed from the mortuary in Oleshky

Evacuation from the occupied Oleshky in Kherson region. Photo: Davyd Arakhamia

A ceasefire lasting more than five days made it possible to repatriate the bodies of those killed in Oleshky. Among them were Ukrainian military personnel and civilians.

This was announced on 2 November during a press conference by Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, according to NikVesti.

«Repatriation operations were carried out. During the ceasefire, the bodies of the deceased were removed from the mortuary at Oleshky Hospital. Repatriation operations were also carried out in Oleshky and the surrounding areas during this period.» During the repatriation, the bodies of the deceased, both military personnel and civilians, were collected,» said the Ombudsman.

According to him, the bodies of the deceased were removed from the mortuary of the Oleshky Hospital and also collected in the town itself and neighbouring settlements.

He noted that an agreement had been reached with the Russian side regarding the return of the bodies of those killed whose relatives live in territory controlled by Ukraine. They are to be transported to Ukraine via the route used each month for the return of deceased Ukrainian servicemen.

The Ombudsman recalled that during the ceasefire in Oleshky, residents were categorised into three groups based on their plans to leave. Some people decided to stay in the town. Food, water, medicines, fuel for generators and medical equipment for the local hospital were delivered to them.

Other residents left for Ukraine. A further group decided to move to territories controlled by Russia, in particular to the Russian Federation.

How residents of occupied Oleshky were evacuated

During the humanitarian operation, the Defence Forces evacuated 167 people from the right bank of the Kherson region. According to the General Staff, people were transported via mined and damaged roads.

The last plane carrying residents of occupied Oleshky arrived in Belarus on 31 October. From there, those who decided to return to Ukraine travelled to government-controlled territory and crossed the border in the Chernihiv region.

The oldest person evacuated was 94 years old, and the youngest was just over a year old. People also took their pets with them, including dogs, cats, a parrot and a raccoon.