The Russians did not screen the population that had left Oleshky, — Lubinets

Dmytro Lubinets at the point from which Oleshky residents are returning to Ukraine Screenshot

When the residents of Oleshky returned to territory controlled by Ukraine, they were not subjected to screening; their phones and documents were not checked.

This was stated by Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada’s Human Rights Commissioner, who led the Ukrainian delegation during the humanitarian mission on the «Yedyni Novyny» telethon.

According to the ombudsman, concerns had emerged online the day before regarding the possibility of people being screened, as their return route passed through Russia and Belarus.

«There was no screening whatsoever; in fact, there were citizens who approached us and mentioned problems with their documents, but there were no issues at all,» said Dmytro Lubinets.

He added that he had been with the residents of Oleshky throughout the humanitarian mission and could confirm that no one had checked their documents or mobile phones.

In addition, on the way from Oleshky, the Ukrainian delegation picked up people from neighbouring settlements. They were standing by the roadside and also wanted to return to territory controlled by Ukraine.

It is known that on the afternoon of 31 October, the last flight carrying residents of Oleshky who had decided to evacuate to territory controlled by Ukraine arrived in Belarus.

As a reminder, on the evening of 30 October, all residents of the temporarily occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region who wished to leave for territory controlled by Ukraine were able to leave the town. Buses were organised for the evacuation, whilst those who chose to stay were supplied with food, water, medicines and hospital equipment.

How the humanitarian mission in Oleshky was organised

The temporarily occupied town of Oleshky on the left bank of the Kherson region has been facing a difficult humanitarian situation for some time. Due to the fighting and damage to infrastructure, local residents have limited access to food, drinking water and medicines. According to Ukrainian estimates, around two thousand people remained in the town.

NikVesti previously reported that the Ukrainian military had delivered nearly four tonnes of humanitarian aid to the occupied town of Oleshky using drones. The consignment included food, medicines and other essential items.

On 23 October, it emerged that Ukraine and Russia, with the mediation of US First Lady Melania Trump, had agreed to carry out a humanitarian mission in Oleshky. The agreement provided for a temporary ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian aid and the possibility of evacuating civilians.

At 03:00 on 27 October, a ceasefire came into effect in the Oleshky area. Under the terms of the agreement, it was to last until the end of 1 November to ensure the safe passage of humanitarian convoys and the safe evacuation of people.

On 28 October, Dmytro Lubinets announced that residents of Oleshky would be able to choose for themselves where to go — to territory controlled by Ukraine or to Russia. Those who decided to stay were promised humanitarian aid.

On 29 October, the Ombudsman announced that the clearance of designated routes along which the humanitarian convoy was to pass had been completed.

On the morning of 30 October, it was reported that 25 buses with a total capacity of 750 seats and ambulances had been prepared. Particular attention was paid to people with disabilities, elderly residents and those unable to move independently.

Subsequently, a Ukrainian delegation led by Dmytro Lubinets arrived in Oleshky. At that time, the Ombudsman reported that the ceasefire had now lasted 80 hours without any breaches. Residents who had chosen to evacuate to Ukraine would be returning via Russia and Belarus.