Key facts
- An estimated 6,000 people, including 200 children, are starving in Russian-occupied Oleshky, Kherson Oblast.
- No one is allowed in or out of Oleshky, and medical supplies are nearly non-existent.
- The last food delivery to the town was on May 26.
- Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that Russia has disregarded international humanitarian law.
- Ukraine and the ICRC were prepared for a humanitarian mission to rescue civilians, pending Russian agreement.
- Residents are resorting to walking along mined roads to escape the town.
Residents in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, are facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with access to food and medical supplies severely restricted and evacuations blocked. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, described the situation as 'hell' and accused Russia of disregarding international humanitarian law.
According to an Oleshky resident, people are resorting to walking along mined roads to escape the town, which has become a 'death trap.' Tetiana Hasanenko, the exiled head of the Oleshky City Military Administration, stated that out of a prewar population of 24,000, only about 2,000 people remain, including approximately 50 children. The last successful food delivery to the city was on May 26, and medical supplies are nearly non-existent.
Ukraine, along with the International Committee of the Red Cross, had prepared a humanitarian mission to rescue 358 individuals identified as urgently needing assistance, but Russia has not agreed to a ceasefire or evacuation. The Kyiv Independent reported that vehicles carrying food into Oleshky were attacked by drones on June 2 and September 1, resulting in casualties and halted deliveries. The town's hospital is reportedly operating without basic medical supplies, electricity, or running water.
The situation has drawn comparisons to the Holodomor, the man-made famine in Ukraine during the 1930s. Activists and Ukrainian officials are raising alarms, urging the international community, particularly the United States and President Donald Trump, to pressure Moscow to allow aid and evacuations.