Ukraine is preparing to evacuate about 6,000 civilians from the temporarily occupied Oleshki municipality in the Kherson region. The plan covers not only Oleshki, but also six other nearby settlements, announced the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets.
According to the Ukrainian side, among the people who may be evacuated, there are up to 200 children. In Oleshki itself, there are up to 2,000 civilians, including children. The evacuation should be carried out simultaneously from all settlements in the municipality.
Agree on a regime of silence
According to Lubinets, negotiations with Russia are being held daily. The Russian side has accepted for consideration the proposals that Ukraine had made earlier, and the talks are now focused on the last practical issues.
Among the unresolved issues is ensuring a regime of silence during the operation. Ukraine insists that all those who wish to be taken directly to territory controlled by the Ukrainian government. “There are still difficult questions“, said Lubinets, expressing hope that there will soon be concrete results from the negotiations.
No date has been announced for the start of the evacuation. The Ukrainian Ombudsman's statement describes the process as preparation and coordination of conditions, and not as a humanitarian operation that has begun.
A difficult humanitarian situation
Oleshki is under Russian control, and according to the description of the situation quoted by UNIAN, there is no electricity in the city, shops are not working, and food and medicine are not regularly delivered. The only hospital provides medical care due to a serious shortage of medicines.
Local residents say that food is not enough and that some people eat bread, tomatoes or honey once a day. There are also reports of the use of wild plants as food. This information was reported by BBC journalists who spoke with residents of the destroyed city.
The Oleshkiv municipality is located on the left bank of the Dnieper, in the occupied part of the Kherson region. In September, Lubinets reported that the Russian side had not confirmed its readiness for a humanitarian mission, although Ukrainian institutions had prepared lists and proposals for evacuation. The new statement indicates a change in the negotiations, but does not guarantee that the operation will begin.
Sources: unian.net, pravda.com.ua, hromadske.ua