Ukraine warns of starvation in occupied Oleshky and seeks UN evacuation corridor

Severe humanitarian crisis in Oleshky

Ukrainian authorities have raised alarms over humanitarian conditions in the frontline town of Oleshky, located on the occupied left bank of the Dnipro River roughly 4 kilometres from Kherson. According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, remaining civilians are enduring extreme deprivation under a Russian blockade. The town has been left without electricity or gas supplies, forcing trapped civilians to search for leftover food and forage for wild vegetation.

Before the war, about 24,000 people lived there; today, only about 2,000 remain, including around 50 children. There is no electricity or gas. Terrifying reports indicate that people are searching for food scraps and gathering grass to survive.

Discrepancies exist regarding the exact number of civilians currently trapped in the sector. While Sybiha cited around 2,000 residents within the town limits, figures from the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights indicate that more than 6,000 people, including approximately 200 children, remain across Oleshky and its surrounding administrative area. The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations stated that the last food deliveries reached the population in late May 2026, leaving residents without external supplies for nearly four months.

Blockade and military siege conditions

The humanitarian crisis is compounded by military controls and combat operations around the perimeter. Sybiha stated that Russian forces are actively obstructing relief efforts and using weaponized systems against civilians trying to navigate the town.

Russia is deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe in the occupied part of the Kherson region. It is blocking access to food and medicine, preventing the evacuation of civilians, while Russian FPV drones hunt people in the streets.

Access roads into Oleshky are mined, and Russian first-person-view (FPV) drones continuously patrol the airspace above the town, thwarting attempted civilian escapes. Starvation deaths have occurred inside the town, with deceased individuals remaining in public streets according to reporting by German newspaper Bild. The Kherson Regional State Administration warned that Russian authorities are deliberately subjecting the population to starvation. Additionally, Ukraine's National Resistance Center stated that Russian forces are disseminating propaganda claiming Ukrainian military actions prevent aid, shifting blame for the blockade.

Diplomatic appeals and evacuation initiatives

In response to the crisis, Kyiv is mobilizing diplomatic channels to secure safe passage for civilians. Sybiha announced plans to address the situation at the United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting in New York to build international pressure on Moscow. He is also scheduled to hold talks with Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has confirmed its readiness to participate in an organized evacuation alongside other international aid bodies.

Religious leaders have mounted an independent push for humanitarian intervention. On 19 September 2026, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, representing Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, and Jewish communities, appealed to UN member states, the ICRC, Pope Leo XIV, the World Council of Churches, and the World Evangelical Alliance. The council called on international religious leaders and human rights organizations to intervene before trapped residents succumb to starvation.