HighLights
  1. Oleshky residents face severe starvation, resorting to eating garden weeds.
  2. Russian occupation blocks critical food supplies, causing widespread malnutrition.
  3. Ukraine accuses Russia of weaponizing aid, obstructing safe humanitarian access.

Ukrainians in Russian-occupied Oleshky are facing severe starvation as constant shelling cuts off critical food supplies. Residents report that children are suffering from malnutrition, with many families forced to survive on just a single meal per day.

Amid the war, Russia occupied Oleshky in 2022, which is situated across the Dnipro River, separating it from the Ukraine-controlled Kherson. People had described life in Oleshky as “equivalent to hell on earth". Kherson’s military office said that it dropped around four tonnes of food into the city. However, it remains unclear as to how many of the supplies were intercepted by the Russian forces.

Residents Survive With One Meal A Day?

One of the trapped women in the Russia-occupied city said that she eats only one meal a day, highlighting the severe food shortage in the area. She claimed that some have begun cooking garden weeds for meeting daily food requirements amid the intensifying food crisis, BBC reported.

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Food supplies have lessened after May, with the Russian forces expanding their minefields and drone coverage across the city, making it tougher to provide deliveries.

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Oleshky has been entirely cut off from electricity, gas, and running water since 2023, following the catastrophic flooding caused by the destruction of the nearby Nova Kakhovka Dam.

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Ukraine Ministers Seek Aid

Amid the deepening food crisis, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha raised the issue at the United Nations General Assembly, accusing Moscow of deliberately starving the civilian population and using humanitarian access as a weapon of pressure.

While the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Ukrainian authorities have stated they are ready to coordinate safe evacuation corridors, Russia has repeatedly blocked these initiatives and rejected localised ceasefires.


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