European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hajja Lahbib said on Monday that Russia must provide humanitarian aid to civilians in the Ukrainian town of Oleshki, in the southern Kherson region, which is currently under Russian occupation, as the situation there “is appalling”, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
“What is happening in Oleshki, Ukraine, is appalling. Civilians are trapped under siege by Russian forces, without access to food, medicine, clean water and basic care. This is unacceptable“, Lakhbib said.
“Russia, as an occupying power, has clear obligations under international humanitarian law: the civilian population must be protected, and the delivery of humanitarian aid must be facilitated“, she added.
Ukrainian armed forces are using drones to deliver food and medicine to the Russian-occupied town of Oleshki, Kherson region governor Oleksandr Prokudin said a few days ago, quoted by Reuters, BTA reported.
Oleski is located on the front line along the Dnieper River, which separates Russian and Ukrainian forces. It has been occupied by the Russians since 2022.
Prokudin said that nearly 2,000 people, including about 50 children, are being held “hostages“ without food, electricity and water and accused Moscow's forces of preventing them from escaping the town. Ukrainian officials have warned that the situation in Oleshki is deteriorating.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said that residents of the town have suffered for months from food shortages and "extremely limited" access to basic necessities.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubynets told Ukrainian media this month that Russia had not accepted a Ukrainian offer to allow civilians to evacuate from Oleshki.