Residents of the Russian-occupied town of Oleshki in southern Ukraine have been walking or cycling for hours on mined roads to find food and water. The main route leads deeper into occupied territory, is littered with burnt-out cars and traces of shelling, and is buzzed by drone strikes. The last deliveries to a local shop were in May, Reuters reported.
A resident of the town, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, told the agency that she was injured by a mine while returning from Radensk, about 20 kilometers southeast of Oleshki.
“There is no safe way out“, the woman said. She said that a few days earlier, three people had died on the same route, which locals call the "road of death."Reuters could not independently verify her account, but it matched reports from other witnesses, relatives of residents, aid workers and video footage reviewed by the agency.
About 1,700 people remain in the town
Oleshki is located in Kherson region, close to the front line east of the Dnieper River. Before the war, its population was about 24,000. Currently, about 1,700 residents remain, including 47 children, according to Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
The town lacks reliable electricity, water and heating. Ukrainian authorities say they have offered a local ceasefire and evacuation routes, but Russia has rejected the offer.
“The choice Russia is forcing on civilians every day is to stay and starve or leave and risk being blown up by a mine,“ Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lyubinets said.
Food and medicine in short supply
Russia has acknowledged that there are critical problems with the supply of food and medical supplies in Oleshki, but has accused Ukraine of obstructing supplies. The Russian Defense Ministry and Moscow-appointed authorities in the occupied part of Kherson region did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The Ukrainian military said it had dropped food by drone over the town. But some residents say they have not seen any such deliveries, and Reuters has not been able to independently confirm the claims.
Residents say they are surviving on home-grown vegetables, stale flour and flatbread cooked over an open fire. There are no eggs, dairy products or meat, and supplies of cucumbers, zucchini and tomatoes are dwindling as winter approaches. Gas cylinders cannot be delivered and the available medicines are past their expiry dates.
„There really is nothing left to trade. "We used everything," the injured resident said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha said that Russia, as an aggressor state, bears "full responsibility for this humanitarian catastrophe."
Sources: reuters.com, internazionale.it, 1-e8259.azureedge.net