During the UN General Assembly, Ukraine will raise the issue of the situation in occupied Oleshky in Kherson Region.
This was written by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha on the social network X.
According to him, Russia is deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the occupied part of Kherson Region, blocking access to food and medicines, obstructing humanitarian access and the evacuation of civilians, while Russian FPV drones hunt people in the streets.
“The situation in Oleshky is particularly horrific. Of the pre-war population of about 24,000, only around 2,000 people remain, including about 50 children. There is no electricity or gas. Food, medicines and other essential items have been blocked for a month. Horrific reports indicate that people are searching for scraps of food and gathering grass to survive,” the diplomat said.
Ukraine is seeking an organised evacuation, and the International Committee of the Red Cross is ready to take part, while international humanitarian organisations are prepared to provide vital assistance.
“The only obstacle is Russia. Russia is deliberately preventing these efforts from reaching people who desperately need them, turning humanitarian access itself into a tool of pressure. In New York, during the UN General Assembly High-Level Week, we will work to mobilise international pressure to ensure humanitarian access, a humanitarian corridor and the safe evacuation of civilians. I am also discussing these efforts with ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric,” he wrote.
Sybiha noted that the international community must use its collective voice to break Russia’s humanitarian blockade, ensure immediate and unhindered access for humanitarian organisations, and secure the safe evacuation of civilians.
- The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations reported a critical humanitarian situation in temporarily occupied Oleshky in Kherson Region and called on the Pope to save the settlement.