Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city of Oleshky, located in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast in Ukraine, has been experiencing a worsening food crisis, as placement of land mines and drone attacks have disrupted supplies of food and medicine. The situation has been exacerbated by the fact, that only people who agreed to receive Russian citizenship have reportedly been qualified as eligible to receive aid from the occupying authorities. As a result, the city's population has decreased from approximately 25,000 before the invasion to only 2,000 as of 2026.[1][2] Ukrainian officials have described the situation in the city and surrounding settlements as a humanitarian blockade, with witnesses making parallels with the Holodomor.[3][4]
On 24 February 2022, Oleshky was occupied by Russian forces in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[5] 7 months later, Russian forces withdrew from Kherson city and the part of the region north of the Dnipro river in November 2022.[6] As a result, the city found itself situated between the Dnipro floodplains, which are under Ukrainian fire control, and Russian forces positioned beyond the city on the opposite side.[7]
Blockade and food crisis
Flooding in Oleshky following the destruction of Kakhovka Dam in 2023
According to the head of Oleshky military administration Tetiana Hasanenko, communication with local inhabitants has been complicated due to disruption of communications and electricity supplies. Centralized water supplies have also been disrupted following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam. Additionally, numerous cases of robbery, torture and murder by Russian servicemen arriving to the city during troop rotation have been registered. On 6 December 2024, a drone attack on a line of civilians queuing for humanitarian aid led to numerous casualties. Civilians in need of medical aid had been systematically denied from being accepted at the local hospital, as it only served Russian citizens.[1] According to a local journalist, Russian troops have been purposefully using local civilians as human shields, refusing to evacuate them in order to prevent Ukrainian military strikes against the area.[4]
On 15 March 2025, Ukrainian forces destroyed a strategically important bridge near Oleshky, preventing Russian troops from expanding their control over the Dnipro estuary islands.[8] In the aftermath, only one access road to the city remained intact, but at least three vehicles travelling over it were destroyed by land mines. Additionally, a local merchant transporting pension money and bread from Skadovsk was shot dead and robbed, further disrupting supplies to the city. As a result, starting from December 2025 Oleshky has experienced a severe food crisis. The situation was made even more difficult due to the lack of medicine. Russian administration in occupied territories provided support only to those inhabitants, who agreed to accept Russian citizenship.[2] As of September 2026, there have reportedly been no supplies of food into the area of Oleshky for over three months.[9] This situation has forced the remaining inhabitants to rely on self-grown food and even resort to hunting birds and wild animals.[1]
Effects and reactions
As of 2026, the population of Oleshky had declined to approximately 2,000 residents, most of them elderly people and their caregivers, as well as men who remained in the city for fear of failing the filtration procedures at Russian checkpoints.[2] Between February and mid-April 2026, the Ombudsman in Ukraine received 119 appeals from inhabitants of Oleshky, reporting about a critical humanitarian situation in the city. A major part of the population has been forced to hide in basements due to constant bombardment, and leaving the area has been made practically impossible due to the installation of roadblocks and introduction of filtration measures by the occupiers.[10] According to local head of regional administrationOleksandr Prokudin, numerous inhabitants of the city have died from starvation and disease due to the humanitarian blockade created by the Russian military. Ukrainian authorities have appealed to the International Red Cross in order to promote the creation of a humanitarian corridor. However, local Russian-installed authorities have refused to acknowledge the existence of a crisis, and refused to perform evacuation of affected civilians.[3]
According to Ukraine's human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine has developed procedures for an evacuation mission from Oleshky, including a local ceasefire, with the International Committee of Red Cross expressing its willingness to participate. However, Russia has reportedly still not confirmed its readiness to allow the mission to proceed. According to Lubinets, 358 persons have been in need of urgent evacuation from the area, with the total number of affected reaching up to 6,000, including 200 children. Some residents have attempted to escape on their own, risking to become victims of land mines and drone strikes.[11]
Several packages of humanitarian aid were delivered by Ukrainian forces with the help of drones.[2] According to regional authorities, between March and September 2026 around 4 tons of products had been delivered to inhabitants of Oleshky by Ukrainian forces. Some locals who gained access to help from the Ukrainian side of the front have reportedly been detained by Russians, with confiscated products being resold by the occupiers.[13]
On 23 October 2026, the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, was reported to have secured a ceasefire in Oleshky, which would begin on 27 October 2026.[14] Melania Trump was said to have worked with a representative to talk with both the Russians and Ukrainians over the city.[15] According to David Arakhamia, a Ukrainian negotiator, Pope Leo XIV was also involved in the talks.[15] The ceasefire agreed to, according to the White House, would temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid and ensure that civilians would be evacuated through a designated safe passageway.[15]
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