Lubinets says front line ruled out direct evacuation from Oleshky to Kherson

A direct evacuation across the river from temporarily occupied Oleshky to Kherson was never considered because it would have crossed the front line, Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said at a press conference on 2 November. He said any arrangement that weakened Ukraine’s defences was unacceptable.

Lubinets said the evacuation plan was prepared in close cooperation with Ukrainian forces and incorporated information from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He had been warned against supporting a Russian proposal involving mine clearance to make a direct route from Oleshky to Kherson possible. The location of the front line ruled out that option, he explained.

The Security Service of Ukraine and military intelligence also contributed to planning the route, alongside accounts from Ukrainians who had previously left the occupied city independently. Lubinets said the two main considerations were the safety of those being evacuated and the speed of the operation. Under the agreement between Ukraine and Russia, residents travelled through Russia and Belarus before entering Ukraine. All evacuated Ukrainian citizens had crossed into Chernihiv Oblast by 31 October.

The humanitarian mission followed an agreement reached by Ukraine and Russia on 23 October, with US First Lady Melania Trump brokering both the mission and a local ceasefire. The ceasefire around Oleshky ran from 03:00 on 27 October to 22:59 on 1 November to enable the humanitarian work.

Lubinets announced the ceasefire’s conclusion on the evening of 1 November and said both sides had met their obligations during that period. Ukrainian military personnel and journalists, meanwhile, reported that Russian forces had used the pause to move heavy armoured vehicles and ammunition forward and rotate units. On the morning of 2 November, Russian forces attacked a hospital in Kherson with a drone.

For residents who remained in Oleshky, Lubinets said Ukraine and Russia were discussing regular humanitarian deliveries. He said the sides had agreed that assistance should be systematic, with communication continuing over how to arrange deliveries at least once a month to provide basic necessities.

The commissioner did not specify how many residents had stayed. He said those remaining had personally confirmed to him that their decisions were voluntary. Deliveries to support them and the town’s still-operating hospital included food, water, medicines, generator fuel and specialised equipment.

Also on 2 November, Lubinets said the parties would keep the number of evacuees undisclosed. He announced plans for a state-run Centre for the Return of Civilians after the Oleshky mission revealed shortcomings in evacuation coordination. Separately, Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, said Moscow currently had no plans for further humanitarian operations similar to the Oleshky evacuation.