Eleven citizens who had been living under temporary occupation have returned to territory controlled by Ukraine. The oldest is 96, the youngest is 50.
This was reported by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets.
Among those evacuated was a man who had remained in occupied Luhansk after his wife died in 2018. His relatives moved to territory controlled by Ukraine and waited for him, but for a long time he did not dare to leave his home.
During that time, the man suffered three heart attacks and had problems with blood pressure and mobility. Because of his health, he could no longer make the journey on his own. He is now in territory controlled by Ukraine, close to his family.
Another story concerns a 96-year-old woman and her son from the temporarily occupied village of Tavriiske in Kherson region. The man was caring for his mother, but in September he was injured in shelling by Russian occupiers. He sustained severe injuries, lost an eye and was taken to hospital.
After that, both needed help: the son was recovering from his injuries, and his elderly mother could not set out on the journey by herself. On 15 October, they were able to return together to territory controlled by Ukraine.
Dmytro Lubinets stressed that during evacuations it is important to take into account people’s health, their needs and the circumstances of their loved ones.
In his words, age, illness or injury should not become an obstacle to bringing Ukrainians home. The Ombudsman’s Office continues its work to return citizens from temporarily occupied territories.
- As part of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, four more young people have been brought back from the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region.