Key facts
- Oleshky is described as a "death trap" with starving residents and unburied bodies.
- Residents are surviving on leftover garden vegetables, preserves, and snails.
- Ukraine has repeatedly called for safe evacuation and international humanitarian access.
- The Kremlin acknowledged critical supply issues in Oleshky in September.
- Oleshky's current population is around 1,700, including 47 children.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated on Saturday that Russian forces are turning the town of Oleshky into a "death trap" with residents starving and bodies unburied in the streets. Sybiha urged the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other organizations to help secure safe evacuation corridors and immediate humanitarian access. The Kremlin acknowledged in September that Oleshky faced critical supply issues, but stated Russia's military was working to resolve them. Ukraine's military has previously used drones to deliver aid to the town. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the situation in Oleshky as "genocide" this week. Oleshky, located in the Kherson region, had a pre-war population of 24,000 and now has around 1,700 residents, including 47 children, according to UN data. Separately, local prosecutors reported that Russian forces dropped aerial bombs on the city of Kherson, killing an ambulance driver and wounding 40 people.