More than four years after the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine, the image is exceptional: the Russian human rights ombudsman, Iana Lantratova, and her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Loubinets, appear side by side, exchanging a few words and agreeing with each other's remarks. The two officials met Friday in Olechky, a southern Ukrainian town occupied by Russia, to supervise a rare local ceasefire intended to allow the evacuation of civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
This operation constitutes one of the very rare examples of cooperation between Moscow and kyiv since the war launched by Russia in 2022 and the breakdown of bilateral relations. Since then, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky have not had direct contact. The image of this improbable understanding between the two representatives, as well as the messages of thanks from Dmytro Loubinets to Iana Lantratova, however, sparked an avalanche of reactions on Ukrainian social networks, where comments oscillated between approval and criticism.
“Very constructive and simply good relations”
On one side, Iana Lantratova, 37, dressed in a black down jacket decorated with the Russian flag, a former deputy accused by kyiv and several Ukrainian NGOs of having participated in the transfer of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories to Russia. On the other, Dmytro Loubinets, 45, wearing a cap with the Ukrainian trident logo, a lawyer who has become one of kyiv's main negotiators on the exchange of prisoners and military remains, the last common ground between the two countries.
The two representatives thanked each other at the end of this meeting, “with great kindness” declared Iana Lantratova to AFP, saying they had “established very constructive and simply good relations”. Returning to kyiv on Monday, Dmytro Loubinets himself explained that he communicates “on a daily basis” with his Russian counterpart. “I have already spoken with her several times today,” he responded to a question from AFP. “When you're on the same bus for 12 hours, you end up covering a lot of topics. I took this opportunity to raise the issue of the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians,” he explained to journalists.
The mediator wants other local ceasefires to be put in place
On Ukrainian social networks, some see this as a sign of a possible thaw, while discussions under American mediation are to be held in Abu Dhabi next week. “He did it because he understands what is at stake: saving people from death in Olechky's trap,” Volodymyr Koval, a soldier defending the Ukrainian mediator, wrote on Facebook. But behind the smiles and public pleasantries, the two representatives remained extremely cautious about the real scope of this cooperation, limited for the moment to Olechky's humanitarian truce and a few specific issues between kyiv and Moscow.
However, it was the handshake between the two mediators which provoked the strongest reactions in Ukraine. Many Internet users also criticized Dmytro Loubinets for having removed his famous black cap, as an apparent sign of courtesy, during his meeting with Iana Lantratova. “I wonder with concern where this humanitarian mission to Olechky can lead,” Ukrainian historian and soldier Vakhtang Kipiani wrote on Facebook.
For him, the mediator would embody a hypothetical “peace party”, ready to accept an end to the fighting under Moscow’s maximalist conditions. “If you demonstrate diplomatic etiquette, you automatically have a greater chance of obtaining a positive result,” Dmytro Loubinets defended Monday, claiming to act above all for “Ukrainian citizens.” “As long as I occupy this position, I do not let myself be guided by emotions, but by results,” he insisted. The mediator said he would like other local ceasefires to be put in place, similar to the one negotiated in Olechky, to help civilians on the front line. Russia did not follow up at this stage.
