Key facts
- The Oleshky evacuation was enabled by a local ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow that held for five days.
- Lubinets said his office received more than 3,000 complaints about draft officers in the first half of 2026.
- Lubinets said he estimated the actual number of draft complaints could be three times higher.
- A 2025 Rating Group poll found around 48% of Ukrainians trusted the human rights ombudsman institution.
- Political analyst Ihor Reiterovych said the evacuation is Lubinets's job and is unlikely to affect his political prospects.
- The President's Office declined to give details on the evacuation, saying it fell under Lubinets's responsibility.
Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets played a central role in the evacuation of civilians from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in Kherson Oblast in late October 2026, an operation made possible by a local ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow that held for five days. The arrangement was described as unprecedented since the start of Russia's full-scale war in 2022.
Residents who had spent nearly five years under Russian occupation praised the operation. Nina Hurova, evacuated with her family on October 31, told the Kyiv Independent that Lubinets "will now be a hero in Oleshky." But his handshakes and warm exchanges with Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, including in front of an evacuation convoy in Russian-occupied Armiansk, Crimea, on October 30, also drew criticism in Ukraine.
Lubinets, 45, has said he has little choice. "My hometown is under Russian occupation. Many of my close friends have been killed in the war," he said in a June interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, adding that as ombudsman he has to put emotions aside because the lives and health of Ukrainian citizens depend on the position and the communication that comes with it.
A native of Volnovakha in Donetsk Oblast, Lubinets studied law and international relations. He began his political career in 2010 on the Volnovakha City Council, was elected to parliament in 2014 as a member of then-President Petro Poroshenko's party, and was re-elected as an independent in 2019, joining the For the Future group linked to oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky. Parliament appointed him ombudsman in July 2022.
Anti-corruption activists have criticized his parliamentary record, saying he signed a 2019 appeal that led the Constitutional Court to strike down criminal liability for illicit enrichment. A 2025 Rating Group poll found around 48% of Ukrainians trusted the ombudsman institution, higher than before the all-out war.
In 2026, Lubinets began speaking out on draft policies, saying his office had received more than 3,000 complaints about draft officers in the first half of the year and estimating the actual figure could be three times higher. He said he personally informs Zelensky of draft problems but has stopped short of publicly criticizing the president. The President's Office declined to provide details on the Oleshky evacuation, saying it fell under Lubinets's responsibility; Lubinets said the operation would not have been possible without Zelensky's political will.
Lubinets met Lantratova in Belarus in June, days after her appointment, and said he would start "from scratch" with her. At a press conference on November 2, he said: "I don't know of any other way to bring our citizens home than through direct negotiations with the Russian side."