In basements without food and water: near Oleshky and in the city itself, 6,000 Ukrainians are awaiting rescue

Ukraine and Russia agreed on the technical details of the evacuation of approximately 6 thousand Ukrainian civilians from the Oleshky area in the temporarily occupied part of Kherson Oblast. Among the people who need to leave, according to preliminary data, there are about 200 Ukrainian children. This was 22 May 2026 reported by Ukrinform with reference to the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets.

According to Dmytro Lubinets, negotiations on the evacuation were held on 15 May 2026. This concerns not only Oleshky itself, but also several settlements around the city where people remain under constant danger. Currently the Ukrainian side is awaiting from Russia a specific date when a ceasefire is to be put in place and the physical removal of people will begin.

Dmytro Lubinets during a press conference after the presentation of the project “Made in Russia. Delivered into Captivity” explained that all technical issues have already been discussed.

“Regarding Oleshky, we held negotiations on 15 May. This concerns not only the evacuation from Oleshky. We named several settlements. Essentially these are around Oleshky. We are talking about the evacuation of approximately 6 000 Ukrainian civilians, including, according to our information, there are 200 Ukrainian children. As of today, technically we have discussed all questions. We are waiting for a date from the Russian side when the process of stopping the fire will be launched and the physical evacuation will begin”, – he said.

Under the plan, evacuees are to be returned to territory controlled by the Ukrainian government. A direct route across the river, according to the Ombudsman, is impossible from a military point of view, so the parties considered several other options.

Dmytro Lubinets clarified that the Ukrainian side has already identified one route that can be implemented fairly quickly.

“Given that crossing the river is impossible from a military point of view, several options were proposed. We found one option that can be implemented fairly quickly, and Ukrainian citizens should first be evacuated directly from these settlements to a conditionally safe place, from where they will be picked up by the Ukrainian side and returned to territory controlled by the Ukrainian government”, – he noted.

The Ombudsman emphasized that a humanitarian catastrophe is effectively ongoing in the Oleshky area. According to his information, people face the threat of death every day, shelter in basements, suffer from active hostilities, bombings and drone attacks. Food is almost exhausted there and there is a shortage of drinking water.

Dmytro Lubinets said that the dangerous situation for civilians is not short-term but has been ongoing for several months.

“There every day, according to my information, people are not just under the threat of death, it happens there every day. People sit in basements, there are active hostilities, bombardments, drones are used, food has practically run out, there is insufficient drinking water. In my view, this humanitarian catastrophe has already been going on for several months”, – he said.

The first appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross and to the Russian side regarding the evacuation of civilians from these settlements was already in early March 2026. According to Dmytro Lubinets, the situation has significantly worsened since then. At the same time, there is currently no way to accurately verify how many civilians have already died in Oleshky.

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also reported a sharp deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the occupied areas of Kherson Oblast. Particular concern were Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Stara Zbur’yivka and Nova Zbur’yivka, where people have been left without normal access to water, food, medicine and safe evacuation.

According to data previously cited by the MFA of Ukraine, the total population in these territories decreased from 40 thousand to approximately 6 thousand people. In Oleshky, where about 24 thousand people used to live, roughly 2 thousand remain. A significant part of those who did not leave are people with reduced mobility.

The Ukrainian side insists that the main issue now is not political statements but a concrete date for a ceasefire, without which the physical evacuation of civilians is impossible. While Russia delays, thousands of Ukrainians remain hostages of the occupation, hostilities and a humanitarian collapse.

Previously we wrote:

• People trapped without water, food and medicine: MFA sounds the alarm over the humanitarian situation in occupied Kherson region
• Oleshky – the ghost town of Russian occupation: water shortages and deadly roads
• Occupied Oleshky on the brink: water shortages, drivers are dying; Lubinets demands a corridor from Russia and action from the ICRC
• Russia launched 4,416 drones in a week across the right bank of Kherson region; the Armed Forces of Ukraine neutralized 95%
• Island of fear: Russian troops are fleeing positions near Oleshky, – Defense Forces