The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, stated that the Ukrainian side is currently unaware of any preparations for a humanitarian mission in Kostyantynivka. He announced this during a meeting of the Parliament's Temporary Investigation Commission.
Ombudsman's statement at the commission meeting
According to Lubinets, Kostyantynivka was not even considered among the potential settlements for implementing such an initiative. However, the Ombudsman has a separate list of settlements in the Kherson region where such an initiative is being discussed. Thus, the issue of Kostyantynivka at the level of preparing a humanitarian operation, he said, has not yet been raised.
Why demining will take months
Lubinets emphasized that preparation for a humanitarian operation in Kostyantynivka could take months. He explained this by the fact that the territory is heavily mined, with mining occurring daily, including by Russian military forces. Any humanitarian mission, according to the Ombudsman, is only possible after establishing a ceasefire and completing demining.
Kremlin's position and Putin's statement
It is worth recalling that on November 12, during a meeting with special representatives of the US President, Vladimir Putin stated that it was possible to organize a humanitarian mission in Kostyantynivka following the model used in Oleshky, Kherson region. The Kremlin, in turn, reported that they are ready to begin demining Kostyantynivka, which they estimate would take about five days. This timeframe, according to Lubinets, seems unrealistic: he noted that even theoretically, it is impossible to conduct the necessary demining in five days, and it would take anywhere from several weeks to several months.
President's Office assessment
The Office of the President of Ukraine, as reported, indicated that the proposal for a humanitarian mission in Kostyantynivka could be used for the rotation of Russian military in Oleshky. Thus, the initiative is being viewed in Kyiv considering its possible military-tactical consequences, not just from a humanitarian perspective.
The Oleshky precedent as a benchmark
The model for Kostyantynivka refers to the humanitarian mission in Oleshky, which, according to Ukrainian and Russian coordinators, was effectively launched on October 23 and involved long hours of ceasefire, the preparation of evacuation buses, and daily technical coordination between the ombudsmen of both countries. It is this experience, according to Putin's statement, that is being proposed for replication in Kostyantynivka, although, according to Lubinets, the conditions and timeframes in the new case would be significantly different.
