Residents of the occupied Oleshki in the Kherson region are on the brink of starvation, without regular supplies of food, drinking water and sufficient medical care. The last regular supply arrived on May 26, and the town is cut off from the outside world due to minefields and drone attacks, The Times reported.
One of the few residents who managed to reach territory under Ukrainian control in September told the British publication about the conditions in the town. Her name has been changed for security reasons. Natalia says that in Oleshki there is no electricity, gas or drinking water, and medical care is at the lowest level.
„We still managed in the summer. We had a garden and survived on what we grew. But at the end of August, it was all over and nothing more arrived. Every morning you wake up and think: what are we going to eat today?“According to her, there are bodies of civilians killed by mines or drones on the streets. Natalia also claims that some of the people died in their homes last winter, when temperatures dropped to minus 10 degrees, and their bodies have not yet been removed.
Up to 2,000 people remain in the city
Before the full-scale war, about 24,000 people lived in Oleshki. According to Tatyana Khasanenko, head of the city's military administration in exile, no more than 2,000 residents remain there at the moment, including 35 children. Many of them are elderly or bedridden and, according to Khasanenko, will not survive the winter without evacuation.
Oleshki has been under Russian occupation since the start of the full-scale invasion. The town became a frontline zone in November 2022, after Russian troops withdrew across the Dnieper from Kherson. In 2023, the area was also affected by flooding after the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam, which, according to The Times, killed hundreds of people.
Natalia says that residents cannot bring food in or leave the town, and the shelling continues day and night. According to her, Russian soldiers have banned fishing and gathering firewood. Some locals travel to Radensk, which is controlled by Russian forces, to bring food to elderly relatives. The route passes through an area known as the “Death Road“, with mines, burned-out cars and the constant threat of drone attacks.
Ukraine discusses evacuating thousands of civilians
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said that hospitals had run out of medicine and families were surviving on leftover vegetables, canned goods and snails. According to Khasanenko, some of the Ukrainian aid delivered by drones was confiscated and residents who received it were detained.
On October 4, Ukrainian servicemen delivered nearly 4 tons of humanitarian cargo to Oleshki by drone, including food, medicine and baby kits. The operation was the second attempt to deliver aid to the occupied city.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubynets reported that the evacuation of about 6,000 civilians from the Oleshkiv municipality and six other nearby settlements is being discussed. Among them may be up to 200 children. According to him, Ukraine and Russia are coordinating the last issues, including ensuring a regime of silence. In Oleshki itself, according to the different assessment of the Ukrainian side, there may be up to 2,000 people.
Sources: unian.net, thetimes.com, pravda.com.ua