Ukraine returned 41 civilians from occupied territories through Volyn border crossing in August and September, says ombudsman
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Forty-one Ukrainian citizens, including four children and five teenagers, returned from Russian-occupied territories through a Volyn border crossing in August and September, Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Oct. 2.
Among those returned was a family that had reunited after their father had been released from Russian captivity, Lubinets said. Their eldest son had also been held captive since April 17, 2022. The mother and youngest son, meanwhile, were earlier confined to a facility against their will and subjected to forced treatement under the pretext of receiving medical care by occupation authorities, Lubinets said.
A young medical worker had been returned to Ukraine shortly before she would have been mobilized into Russia's armed forces, Lubinets also said.
Lubinets also highlighted the dire situation in occupied Oleshky in Kherson Oblast.
Oleshky lies on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, less than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the regional center of Kherson. The town has been under Russian occupation since Feb. 24, 2022.
Russian forces are preventing Ukraine and international humanitarian organizations from accessing the occupied territories to provide aid.
Residents of Oleshky have reported that the town is running critically low on food due to a lack of supplies, while only a small number of residents have managed to evacuate.
Oleshky's population has fallen from around 24,000 to approximately 2,000 as of spring 2026, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The fate of thousands of Ukrainians currently in captivity, as well as those living under occupation, remains uncertain. Ukrainian authorities say up to 16,000 Ukrainians are considered missing, while Russia is holding thousands of Ukrainian civilians in detention.
