Key facts
- The Kremlin acknowledged critical problems with food and medicine supplies in Oleshky, a town in Russian-controlled Kherson Oblast.
- Russia's military is reportedly working to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Oleshky.
- Ukraine's Foreign Minister plans to raise the situation in Oleshky at the UN General Assembly.
- Ukraine claims 6,000 residents, including 200 children, are suffering from hunger and cold in Oleshky.
- Ukraine accuses Russia of blocking humanitarian aid and refusing evacuation.
- The last successful food delivery to Oleshky was on May 26, according to an exiled Ukrainian official.
The Kremlin acknowledged on Monday that Oleshky, a town in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Kherson region, is facing critical problems with food and medicine supplies, but stated that Russia's military is working to resolve them.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine's delegation intends to raise the issue of Oleshky before the UN General Assembly, where he claimed 6,000 residents, including 200 children, are "dying from hunger and cold." Sybiha accused the occupying forces of not allowing humanitarian aid through and of not responding to long-standing evacuation negotiations.
"We will talk about Oleshky here, at the highest level, and we will apply pressure so that the world hears this and makes Russia provide humanitarian access," Sybiha said in a video posted on Facebook. Nearly 130 heads of state are visiting New York this week for the UN General Assembly.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, stated that residents are desperate to escape the town, which he described as "hell." Tetiana Hasanenko, exiled head of the Ukrainian Oleshky City Military Administration, told the Kyiv Independent that the last successful food delivery to the city was on May 26. She added that there is "absolutely no meat, flour, oil, butter, ready-made bread, and other basic products in the city." Hasanenko also reported that on June 2, Russian drones attacked vehicles carrying food into Oleshky, killing two drivers and injuring others.