Ukraine brings back 45 more citizens from temporarily occupied territories, Russia and Belarus
Source: Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets on Telegram
Quote: "Thanks to the coordinated work of the Ombudsman's Office of Ukraine, government agencies, humanitarian organisations and international partners, we managed to ensure the safe return of 45 Ukrainian citizens from the temporarily occupied territories, as well as from the territories of Russia and Belarus."
Details: Among the evacuees were people who needed special conditions for safe movement: people with limited mobility and seriously ill citizens. They were physically unable to leave the temporarily occupied territories on their own. A total of 10 people needed urgent treatment and had severe chronic illnesses; evacuation was organised for 23 people with the use of specialised transport and medical support.
The overwhelming majority of those who returned were elderly. The oldest citizen is 93 years old.
In addition, among the returned citizens are Ukrainians who needed legal support and accompaniment, as they had lost their personal documents and were unable to cross the border on their own.
Lubinets noted that some of the returned Ukrainians were persecuted by the Russian administrations. In particular, a family whose father was abducted by the Russians and tortured, resulting in his death.Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
30 minutes ago
- Axios
Rubio says peace agreement "a long ways off" after Putin summit
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that "we're not at the precipice" of a peace agreement after President Trump's Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without a deal on Russia's war in Ukraine. The big picture: Trump, who Axios previously reported set a ceasefire as the goal of the talks, said "we didn't get there" after the meeting. Rubio on Sunday said both sides would have to make concessions, but refused to name any that Putin agreed to. Now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, joined by several European leaders, will travel to Washington for a potentially difficult meeting with Trump on Monday. Driving the news: Rubio, who made appearances across the Sunday political show lineup, told ABC's Martha Raddatz a ceasefire was not the aim, arguing, "You're not going to reach a ceasefire or peace agreement in a meeting" without Ukraine present. If an agreement isn't reached, Rubio said, there will be consequences — but he emphasized the administration is trying to avoid such measures. Late last month, Trump threatened to shorten Putin's deadline to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face heavy sanctions, which he said would include "secondary sanctions and tariffs." Yes, but: Rubio on Sunday argued that if the U.S. levies additional sanctions, the "talking stops." "If this morning the president woke up and said, 'I'm putting these terrible ... strong sanctions on Russia,' that's fine — [it] may make people feel good for a couple hours," he said on Fox's "Sunday Morning Futures." "But here's what you're basically saying ... talks are over for the foreseeable future." He reiterated that view on NBC's "Meet the Press," saying that he doesn't believe new sanctions would force Putin to accept a ceasefire. "We may very well wind up in that place," he said of new sanctions. "I hope not. Because that means that peace talks failed." The other side: Democrats on Sunday blasted the president over the meeting, which began with a red carpet rollout, and denounced the lack of immediate consequences for Russia. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) described the summit as a "great day for Russia" in an interview with NBC's Kristen Welker, saying Putin left with "his photo op with zero commitments made and zero consequences." His Democratic colleague, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), said on ABC's "This Week" that Trump "got played" by Putin and that "[a]ll the threatened sanctions ... apparently have been set aside." Van Hollen called for the Senate to move ahead on bipartisan legislation that would impose new sanctions on Russia. Catch up quick: Trump, in a Truth Social post after the summit, said the meeting — and a subsequent phone call with Zelensky and European leaders — went "very well." He wrote that it "was determined by all" that a peace agreement, rather than a "mere Ceasefire Agreement" would be the best solution. Zelensky had been adamant that there must be a ceasefire before peace talks, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. The terms that Putin laid out in the summit included that Ukraine cede two of the four regions to which Russia has laid claim and freeze the front lines in the other two, Axios' Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler reported, citing two sources briefed on a call U.S. officials held with other allied leaders. Flashback: Zelensky's Monday trip to Washington comes around six months after Trump's February Oval Office meeting with the Ukrainian leader boiled over into a heated argument. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte are all expected to attend the meeting with Zelensky. Friction point: On CBS News' "Face the Nation," Rubio denied that those leaders were joining Zelensky as backup to protect him from being bullied into a deal. "This is such a stupid media narrative; that they are coming here tomorrow because Trump is going to bully Zelensky into a bad deal," he said. "We invited them to come," he added. "The president invited them to come."
Newsweek
31 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Zelensky Ally Says He Hopes JD Vance Not at Trump Meeting
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's upcoming return to the White House will likely go smoother if Vice President JD Vance does not attend, a senior Ukrainian official has said. The Ukrainian leader's now-infamous trip to the White House in late February saw Zelensky berated by President Donald Trump and the vice president in front of the world's cameras. The visit was a dip in already strained relations between Kyiv and the Trump administration, a hideous diplomatic moment Ukrainian officials have been keen to rectify as U.S. efforts to reach a deal to end the fighting grind on. It will be better for the Ukrainian delegation if Vance is not present for Monday's meeting, Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee and a member of Zelensky's Servant of the People party, told Newsweek. The February Oval Office meeting saw Vance "provoking" the Ukrainian leader, Merezhko said. Vice President JD Vance, right, speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, as President Donald Trump listens in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 28, 2025. Vice President JD Vance, right, speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, as President Donald Trump listens in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 28, 2025. AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov, File) In among various barbed exchanges, Vance told Zelensky: "Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who's trying to save your country." Zelensky "learned his lesson" from February, and will aim to strike a diplomatic and respectful tone, Merezhko said. The Trump administration is less likely to "bully him again" if the Ukrainian leader is joined by Ukraine's European allies, Merezhko added. A number of Europe's heads of state have confirmed they will make the journey to Washington for the meeting at the White House with Zelensky, including British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron. Finnish President Alexander Stubb may attend, Politico reported on Sunday. The Finnish leader has bonded with Trump over a shared love of golfing while leading a country with a significant land border, and apprehension toward, Russia. Also expected to attend are Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who has pieced together a close relationship with Trump while corralling Europe toward unity. Europe has jostled hard to maintain relevance in U.S.-brokered peace talks over Ukraine, looking on with nervousness at the apparent reluctance of the current administration to punish Russia or leverage significant concessions from Moscow despite its threats to do so. European leaders met virtually with Zelensky and Trump ahead of the Republican's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, reiterating that Ukraine should be involved in negotiations and that international borders should not be changed by force. The issue of which territory Russia and Ukraine will control in a ceasefire agreement has been one of the biggest obstacles to a deal to end the fighting. Russia annexed Crimea, the peninsula to the south of mainland Ukraine, in 2014, and backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine that are collectively known as the Donbas, Ukraine's industrial heartland. In fall 2022, after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in the February, Russia declared Donetsk and Luhansk as annexed territory now part of Russia, along with the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. While Russia controls the vast majority of Luhansk, Ukraine retains its grip on about a quarter of Donetsk and of much of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia's claim to these regions is not internationally recognized. The Kremlin has positioned its territorial demands as a key sticking point in negotiations. Kyiv has repeatedly said it will not reward Russia's invasion with territory, and to cede these areas would go against the country's constitution. After the Anchorage summit, Trump told European leaders that he backed a plan in which Ukraine would cede territory it still controlled to Russia, The New York Times reported, citing two senior European officials. Reuters reported that Russia had said it would offer slivers of land it currently controls in Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv ceding chunks of land in the east that Russia does not currently control, citing sources briefed on the Kremlin's thinking. Under the proposal, Ukraine would fully withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk, with the current front lines in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to the south frozen in place, according to the report. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Sunday that despite the Alaska summit yielding no deal, Ukraine would have "Article 5-like" protections to ward off any future attempt by Russia to attack its neighbor. Article 5 is the provision in NATO's founding treaty that means that an attack on any member country in the alliance is treated as an attack on all. It is not clear how the arrangement Witkoff referred to would work. Ukraine has consistently said it needs security guarantees, and not to be bound by any limits on the size of its military. Kyiv also wants to be on the path to NATO and European Union membership. Russia wants Ukraine to be a neutral state. Expectations are low for the Monday meeting, Merezhko said. "You cannot reconcile them," he said, referring to the Ukrainian and Russian demands. "Now it is really up to President Zelensky to get it done," Trump told Fox News following the Alaska summit. "I would also say the European nations have to get involved a little bit."
Newsweek
31 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Zelensky Returning to White House With Backup After Trump Clash
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. European leaders and the NATO Secretary General will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Monday's White House meeting, offering up a coordinated show of support for Kyiv after President Donald Trump failed to reach a ceasefire deal with Russia last week. Why It Matters European officials have looked on with concern as the Trump administration placed itself as the chief negotiator between Russia and Ukraine, jockeying to stay in the loop—and influential—as the Republican appears unwilling to strongarm Russia into concessions. European countries, many of which feel their own security is at stake with an agreement for Ukraine, have repeatedly echoed Kyiv's demands for a ceasefire deal that does not gift Russia territory recognized internationally as Ukrainian, and for Kyiv to have firm security guarantees to deter future Russian attacks. Ahead of Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, European leaders made it clear they did not support any change in borders by force. Trump had said in advance of the summit that both sides would need to cede territory. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky participate in a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on August 17, 2025. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky participate in a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on August 17, 2025. AP Photo What To Know British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron will be among the leaders making the trip to Washington. Also expected to attend are Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who has sought a tight relationship with Trump. Finnish President Alexander Stubb may attend, Politico reported on Sunday. The Finnish leader has broken the ice with Trump, bonding over a shared love of golfing while leading a country with a significant land border, and apprehension toward, Russia. Stubb is a "very good player," Trump previously said. Zelensky's previous visit to the White House in February ended in disaster, descending into a public show of fractured relations between Kyiv and Washington. "Most likely, there will be little mutual understanding between Trump and Zelensky," Oleg Dunda, a Ukrainian MP who is part of Zelensky's Servant of the People party, told Newsweek. "Zelensky has already firmly rejected any proposals regarding territories." Trump told European leaders after meeting Putin that he backed a plan in which Ukraine would cede territory it still controlled to Russia, The New York Times reported, citing two senior European officials. Reuters reported that Russia had said it would offer slivers of land it currently controls in Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv giving up chunks of land in the east that Russia does not currently control, citing sources briefed on the Kremlin's thinking. Under the proposal, Ukraine would fully withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk, with the current front lines in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to the south frozen in place, according to the report. Kyiv has said it will not reward Russia's invasion with territory, and to cede these areas would go against the country's constitution. Russia has tried to frame European nations as stumbling blocks to the peace agreement the Trump administration has pledged to broker. Following the Anchorage summit, Putin urged European politicians to "not make attempts to disrupt the planned progress through provocations and behind-the-scenes intrigues," or to become "obstacles." Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Sunday that despite the Alaska summit yielding no deal, Ukraine would have "Article 5-like" protections to ward off any future attempt by Russia to attack its neighbor. Article 5 is the provision in NATO's founding treaty that means that an attack on any member country in the alliance is treated as an attack on all. Moscow has insisted Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO, while Kyiv sees joining the alliance as a way to make sure Russia cannot attack the country again. "Now it is really up to President Zelensky to get it done," Trump told Fox News following the Alaska summit. "I would also say the European nations have to get involved a little bit." What People Are Saying Dominique Trinquand, a retired general who previously headed up France's military mission to the United Nations, told The Associated Press: "The Europeans are very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr. Zelensky to the hilt." What Happens Next It's not clear how much concrete progress will be made in Monday's meeting, the Russian and Ukrainian demands remaining apparently irreconciliable.
