Ukraine and Russia have reached an agreement on the return of the bodies of dead military and civilians, which were taken from the temporarily occupied Oleshky in Kherson region during a humanitarian truce. The bodies of people whose relatives live in Ukraine are to be handed over to the Ukrainian side.
This was announced on November 2 by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Lubinets during a press conference following the humanitarian mission, reports Novyny.LIVE and RBC-Ukraine.
According to the ombudsman, during the agreed ceasefire regime, the bodies of the dead and deceased were taken from the morgue of the hospital in Oleshky. Similar measures were also carried out in the adjacent territories.
Lubinets confirmed that the parties have agreed on the further transfer of bodies to Ukraine through the existing repatriation mechanism.
"Currently, we have an agreement with the Russian side that all bodies, whose relatives live in Ukraine, will be delivered to Ukraine", - stated the ombudsman.
He clarified that for this purpose, the already established procedure for returning the bodies of fallen Ukrainian servicemen will be used. Under this mechanism, Ukraine regularly carries out repatriation of fallen defenders.
At the same time, Lubinets did not name the exact number of bodies planned to be returned, nor the timeline for their transfer. There are also currently no reports on the completion of repatriation of remains taken during the mission in Oleshky.
Sky News previously showed the removal of bodies from the hospital
The day before, the British TV channel Sky News released aerial surveillance footage from the Ukrainian military, which captured the removal of bodies from the morgue of the hospital in occupied Oleshky.
The video shows that the bodies were placed in double bags, then loaded into a vehicle marked with a red cross. The process was overseen by Russian servicemen.
As previously reported by Kurs.com.ua, Sky News journalists estimated the number of bodies taken to be approximately 30. However, there is no official confirmation of this figure.
The report also mentioned difficulties in establishing the circumstances of death of some people who were in the morgue. Local residents told journalists that relatives of the deceased had long been unable to collect their bodies for burial.
The new agreement announced by Lubinets determines the further procedure for transferring remains to Ukraine. However, there is currently no information on exactly how many bodies from those captured on video are subject to repatriation.
Humanitarian mission in Oleshky has ended
The ceasefire regime in the Oleshky area was in effect from October 27 to November 1, 2026. The agreements were reached with the participation of Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova, coordinated by the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump.
During the humanitarian pause, the parties organized demining of routes, delivery of food, water, medicines and other necessary assistance, as well as evacuation of civilians from the occupied city.
On October 31, the Ukrainian delegation, together with evacuated citizens, returned to the territory controlled by Ukraine.
After the completion of the mission, Lubinets reported that Ukraine and Russia have fulfilled the agreed humanitarian obligations. Currently, the parties are also discussing the possibility of continuing assistance to residents of Oleshky who decided to stay in the city.
