Around 1,700 people remain trapped in the devastated town of Oleshky in Kherson Region, and Russia is trying to turn the settlement into a deadly trap.
As Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote, the only road out is mined and is being monitored by attack drones. Those trying to escape risk being killed. The nearby river has also been mined. Residents doubt they will survive this winter.
“The hospital has run out of medicines. Dozens of bodies lie in the streets and in homes, because the Russians are forbidding residents from burying the dead. Families are starving, surviving on leftover vegetables, home preserves and even snails. According to residents, Russian soldiers threatened them with weapons, demanding they hand over food,” the Ukrainian diplomat said.
He noted that Ukraine has repeatedly called for safe evacuation and international humanitarian access. These appeals cannot go unanswered.
The minister urged the UN, the ICRC and all partners to use every available channel to ensure safe evacuation corridors and immediate access for humanitarian aid to Oleshky, stressing that Russia must stop obstructing efforts to rescue civilians.
Separately, he thanked Pope Leo XIV for his appeal to Putin to declare a ceasefire in Oleshky so that humanitarian aid can be delivered to the town.
- Read about what is happening in occupied Oleshky in LB.ua’s report “‘We will, of course, survive… or maybe not.’ What is happening in occupied Oleshky”.