Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned Saturday that Russian occupying forces are turning the southern town of Oleshky into a starvation-stricken death trap, as heavy winter threats compound an extreme humanitarian crisis that has left electricity, water, and supply routes entirely severed.
The situation in the isolated Kherson region community has deteriorated sharply, prompting urgent international appeals from Kyiv. Once home to 24,000 residents before the 2022 invasion, Oleshky now retains a drastically reduced population of approximately 1,700 people, including 47 children, according to Danielle Bell, head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
Andrii Sybiha Details Starvation and Blocked Evacuations in Oleshky
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha issued an urgent public statement on X describing the dire conditions gripping the Russian-held town on the east side of the Dnipro River. According to reporting by Reuters, the minister revealed that the hospital has run out of medicine.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged the UN, the ICRC, and all partners to use every available channel to secure safe evacuation corridors and immediate humanitarian access to Oleshky, as Russians are trying to turn the Ukrainian town of Oleshky into a death trap. 💬 “People… https://t.co/E6ebO7y52L
Russians are trying to turn the Ukrainian town of Oleshky into a death trap. The hospital has run out of medicine. Dozens of bodies lie in the streets or in homes, as Russians forbid residents from burying them.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukrainian Foreign Minister
Sybiha added that families are surviving on meager remnants, including leftover garden vegetables, preserves, and snails. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy characterized the unfolding catastrophe this week as genocide.
Humanitarian Demands and Drone Supply Missions Across the Dnipro
With safe roads completely blocked by mines, supply operations have fallen to heavy Ukrainian bomber drones. These aircraft risk dangerous skies to drop vital food and medical packages into the nearly deserted, Russian-occupied city as winter approaches.
The Kremlin acknowledged in September that Oleshky faced critical problems with food and medical supplies, asserting at the time that its military was working to resolve the crisis. Despite those assurances, conditions have worsened, prompting Sybiha to press international bodies for immediate intervention.
secure safe evacuation corridors and immediate humanitarian access.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukrainian Foreign Minister
Sybiha specifically called on the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to step in, emphasizing that these appeals cannot remain unanswered.
Diplomatic Discussions and Ongoing Bombardment Across the Kherson Region
The diplomatic push follows a conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pope Leo, during which Putin pledged cooperation in delivering vital supplies to the stricken town. However, regional violence continues to disrupt civilian areas on both banks of the Dnipro River.
Local prosecutors reported that Russian forces dropped aerial bombs on the city of Kherson, located on the opposite bank from Oleshky, killing an ambulance driver and wounding 40 people as the wider regional crisis deepens.
