‘Hospital Runs Out of Medicine, Families Starve’: Ukraine Seeks Evacuation of Residents from Russian-Held Town
Ukraine has urged international organisations to help evacuate residents from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky amid a worsening humanitarian crisis marked by severe food shortages, a lack of medicines and reports of bodies lying unburied.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Saturday that Russian occupying forces were turning Oleshky, in the southern Kherson region, into a “death trap”.
In a post on X, Sybiha alleged that the town’s hospital had run out of medicines and that dozens of bodies were lying in streets and homes because residents were being prevented from burying the dead.
“Families are starving, surviving on leftover garden vegetables, preserves and even snails,” he said, urging the international community to respond to Ukraine’s repeated calls for safe evacuation and humanitarian access.
Sybiha’s remarks came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged, during a conversation with Pope Leo, to cooperate in delivering essential supplies to Oleshky.
The Kremlin acknowledged in September that the town was facing critical shortages of food and medical supplies but said Russian military forces were working to address the situation.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military has reportedly used drones on two occasions to deliver food and medicines to the town.
Sybiha called on the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organisations to establish safe evacuation corridors and ensure immediate humanitarian access for residents.
Oleshky is located on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, much of which was occupied by Russian forces following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces subsequently recaptured significant areas, including the city of Kherson.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation in Oleshky as “genocide” earlier this week.
According to Danielle Bell, head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Oleshky had a pre-war population of approximately 24,000. The town is now home to around 1,700 residents, including 47 children.
In a separate development, local prosecutors said on Saturday that Russian forces had dropped aerial bombs on Kherson, located on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River from Oleshky.
The attack killed an ambulance driver and injured 40 people, according to the prosecutors.
The situation in Oleshky has renewed concerns over civilian safety and access to essential supplies in areas affected by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
