Moscow is refusing a rescue operation for the starving people of Oleshki, who are besieged in the destroyed Ukrainian town on the banks of the Dnieper River. The last food deliveries were four months ago, writes the Swiss publication “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”. The situation there has also aroused international resonance.
Four and a half years after Russian troops captured the Ukrainian town of Oleshki in the Kherson region, apocalyptic conditions reign there, writes the Swiss “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”. The surviving residents, who still have access to the Internet, talk about a life filled with deprivation - without electricity, gas, running water and without enough provisions, the publication writes, and specifically emphasizes that Moscow has so far refused a rescue operation for the starving people in the besieged city on the banks of the Dnieper.
It's about people, not territories
"The humanitarian catastrophe in Oleshki clearly demonstrates what is happening to the inhabitants of the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia" - this was stated by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kalas at a press conference in Brussels.
"When someone asks: "Why don't we just give them these territories?" - it seems so simple, doesn't it? But in fact, it's about people who are suffering in these lands," said Kalas. With this, she reminded that it is not about territories, but about people.
The settlement in the Kherson region has been cut off from food supplies for over three months. The EU is trying to deliver humanitarian aid to the city and “support Ukraine so that it can protect itself and its citizens”, Kaia Kalas also said.
Sanctions are being prepared in Brussels
She added that Brussels is preparing “a significant list of sanctions“ against Russia. The list is expected to include over 1,500 individuals and legal entities, mainly related to Russia's military-industrial complex.
Polish MEP Michal Kobosko told DW that he would raise the issue of Oleshki with the European Parliament. He expressed doubt that European politicians and the public are sufficiently informed about the situation there and stated that this is not a theoretical issue, but a “very concrete question of life and death“.
Moscow does not give an answer
The city of Oleshki was occupied in the first days of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. In June 2023, it was almost completely flooded as a result of the destruction of the dam wall of the “Kakhovka” hydroelectric power station. About 6,000 people remain in the municipality of Oleshki, which includes 13 settlements, including 180 children, the city administration specified.
Since the beginning of spring, Ukraine has been negotiating with Russia to evacuate the people of Oleshki, but the Russian side has not yet confirmed that it is ready to allow the humanitarian operation, said the plenipotentiary representative of Ukraine for human rights Dmitry Lubinets.