“The Most Terrifying Point On The Map”: Occupied Oleshky Faces Starvation Due To Russia’s Actions

18.09.2026, 02:51 uatv.ua

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on international partners to urgently provide humanitarian access to the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in Kherson region and help people leave before the cold sets in. Russian troops are blocking the delivery of food and medicine to the settlement, mining roads, and using civilians as human shields. UATV English reports on what’s currently happening in Oleshky.

The city has many destroyed buildings, with shell craters visible everywhere on the streets. Oleshky has now been under Russian occupation for 4 years and 7 months. There’s no gas, electricity, or running water here.

Since the start of summer 2026, food and medicine supplies to the city have also been completely halted. Rare videos from local residents on social media only partly convey the scale of the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe. The footage shows signs on fences reading “No food, we’re starving too,” emaciated animals that are almost nowhere to be seen on the streets anymore, and a three-liter jar of preserved bread crusts, now worth its weight in gold.

“Another week and that’s it, the vegetable season will be over. People’s mood is panicked and even suicidal, because they don’t have the strength to look into the eyes of a malnourished child, or elderly, sick, or disabled people. There are no internal reserves left, nothing to feed the chickens with, so they’ve been slaughtered. Dogs with ribs showing, cats that seem blown about by the wind. The city is burning. Yesterday a two-story building in the center smoldered out completely. Fortunately, the sole resident Vladyslav is alive, though his cat died. The house next door burned down the day before,” local resident Alla Lykhman-Malysh described the situation in Oleshky on Facebook.

People barely move around the city due to constant shelling. And the Russians simply won’t let them leave, essentially using local residents as human shields. All roads around Oleshky are mined, and the work of humanitarian missions has been completely blocked. Food was last brought into the city on May 26. Volunteers tried to break through to Oleshky in July and August, but both times the vehicles came under heavy shelling and had to turn back.

“I’ll go so far as to say the Russians have created the most terrifying point on the world map right there. This is ‘great Russian culture’ — destroyed homes, hunger, blockade, and terror. There’s no way out — mines. Neither is there any way to leave. Food and medicine haven’t been brought in since June. Vehicles carrying humanitarian cargo are shot at. People are discussing how to eat bark and plants. This is once again a Holodomor. And this needs to be said out loud. Crimes against humanity need to be called crimes,” stated Humaniti organization press secretary Ester Vratarova.

Before the Russian occupation, Oleshky was home to a massive paper mill, a construction mixtures plant, oil-processing plants, wineries, and fish farms. At the time, 25,000 people lived there. Now, according to various estimates, up to 3,000 residents remain. And the next few months could prove fatal for many of them.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on international partners to immediately provide access to Oleshky and establish aid corridors. He emphasized that any serious discussion of peace must take into account the interests of people whose lives and fundamental rights are under threat.

“This severe situation is a stark reminder of the reality for anyone who speaks lightly of leaving Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation. These aren’t just lines on a map at the negotiating table. Real people live there, and their daily lives are determined by an occupying power that has already shown how it treats the Ukrainians who fall under its control,” Sybiha noted.

The critical situation isn’t limited to the city. According to Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, around 6,000 residents of the Oleshky community, including at least 180 children, remain isolated and without access to necessary assistance.

Russia is not only failing to address the humanitarian crisis, but is also blocking any attempts to help people in any way. Meanwhile, time is running out. Humanitarian access to this region must be secured now. And the world’s response must be immediate.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha discussed the situation in Oleshky and Hola Prystan in Kherson region with Pope Leo’s special representative Matteo Zuppi.

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