The two officials announced their presence in the Russian-occupied town in separate posts on their Telegram channels. A column of 25 buses with a capacity of at least 750 people has been formed for the evacuation, with separate buses set aside for bedridden patients and for pet carriers, Lantratova said.
Lubinets said the silence regime had held for 80 hours and was continuing. He wrote that he was speaking with local residents to determine what assistance they need most.
Food, medicines, drinking water, hygiene supplies and fuel for generators have been delivered to the town. David Arakhamia, a member of the Ukrainian negotiating group and head of the Servant of the People faction, also reported the distribution of aid in Oleshky.
Lantratova said residents wishing to leave for Russian or Ukrainian territory are being placed on buses.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi, speaking in the Verkhovna Rada, said 527 people are ready to return to Ukraine. Accommodation has been prepared for them in various regions.
The route for those returning to Ukraine calls for people to be taken by bus from Oleshky to the Russian town of Anapa. From there, together with the Ukrainian delegation, they are to be flown on a Russian Defense Ministry military transport aircraft to Gomel in Belarus. The flight is planned for October 31; the onward route has not yet been specified.
The humanitarian operation is taking place under a local ceasefire in effect from October 27 until late in the evening of November 1. It is coordinated by Lantratova and Lubinets with the mediation of US First Lady Melania Trump.
Lantratova said two people, including a sapper, were killed during demining of the roads to Oleshky. The circumstances of the deaths and the identity of the second person were not specified. She said the necessary safety measures have already been taken.
Oleshky has been under Russian occupation since 2022. According to Ukrainian authorities' estimates, about two thousand residents remain in the town.