Yurii Sobolevsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Kherson Regional Council, spoke about this in a comment to Ukrinform.

“I submitted a deputy’s appeal to Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Vyhivsky regarding this situation on behalf of the entire frontline community, since incidents such as the one involving the evacuation vehicle in the Mykolaiv region have extremely devastating consequences for society,” Sobolevsky said.

According to him, the inquiry specifically notes that among the evacuated passengers were citizens with limited mobility, seriously ill people, a man with a high amputation of both lower limbs, his three-year-old son, and an elderly grandmother. Despite the specific nature and critical importance of the trip, the mission’s vehicle was stopped by a patrol unit. According to available information, an officer from the Bashtanka District Police Department, using a fabricated pretext regarding the driver’s alleged intoxication, deceived the volunteer and took him to a medical examination center instead of a medical facility.

According to Sobolevsky, due to the loss of an experienced evacuation vehicle driver, the Kherson Rapid Response Unit was forced to officially announce the temporary suspension of long-distance evacuation missions and the cancellation of previously submitted requests from the civilian population. This poses a direct threat to the lives and safety of hundreds of Kherson residents with limited mobility (in 2025 alone, this unit rescued 958 people).

Sobolevsky notes that the incident gained immediate attention, sparking a wave of outrage among residents of the Kherson region.

Separately, Sobolevsky emphasized that Russian propaganda is already actively and systematically exploiting this incident in its psychological operations.

At the same time, he added that he fully supports the need to implement Ukraine’s mobilization plans and laws; however, the methods used to carry them out in frontline areas must not paralyze the work of those responsible for rescuing civilians and ensuring rear security.

Read also:Russian drone attack damages civilian vessel in

Mykolaivregion port

Sobolevsky asks the Minister of Internal Affairs to take this matter under his personal supervision.

“It is necessary to provide a proper legal assessment of the police officer’s actions and to take immediate, systematic measures to prevent similar incidents in the future, in order to protect the reputation of state institutions and preserve the evacuation system for people in southern Ukraine,” the statement reads.

As reported by Ukrinform, in the Mykolaiv region, the driver of an evacuation vehicle was sent for a medical examination, and the police will conduct an investigation.

Following the incident in the Mykolaiv region—where a driver from the Ukrainian Red Cross rapid response team was stopped while evacuating two families from Kherson—the Ombudsman’s Office is reviewing the actions of the Ombudsman’s representative in the Kherson region and has opened disciplinary proceedings.

Illustrative photo: Ukrainian Red Cross