Council of Churches urges Pope Leo XIV to help save residents of occupied Oleshky as city nears humanitarian catastrophe

20.09.2026, 19:47 rubryka.com

The council stressed that Oleshky, located in territory of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russian forces, is under a humanitarian blockade and on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. The last food supplies were delivered to the area in late May 2026, meaning residents are going hungry, while Russian forces are preventing them from leaving the city.

More than 6,000 people may remain in Oleshky and the surrounding area, including around 200 children, who are effectively in a 'gray zone' near the front line.

"These are civilians who face the daily threat of shelling and drone attacks and remain without food, drinking water, medicine, and other essential assistance. Critical infrastructure in the city has been largely destroyed, while electricity and gas supplies are unavailable," the Council of Churches said, recalling that the city was flooded in 2023 after Russian forces destroyed the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.

The Council of Churches appealed to Pope Leo XIV, the World Council of Churches, the World Evangelical Alliance, other religious leaders, and human rights organizations, urging them to use every available means to prevent people from starving to death. It also called on UN member states and the International Committee of the Red Cross to facilitate a humanitarian mission and the evacuation of Oleshky residents to territory controlled by Ukraine.

The organization stressed that the Ukrainian side has repeatedly drawn the attention of international organizations to the critical situation in the city and has attempted to negotiate the evacuation of residents.

As previously reported, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said that Russia has for a long time refused to confirm its readiness to organize a humanitarian evacuation mission for civilians from Oleshky.

As previously reported, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has drawn the international community's attention to a serious deterioration in the humanitarian situation in parts of the temporarily occupied territories of Kherson region as a result of crimes committed by Russian forces that grossly violate international humanitarian law.

Particular concern has been raised over the situation in Oleshky, Hola Prystan, as well as Stara Zburivka and Nova Zburivka in Kherson region, where adequate conditions for meeting the basic needs of local residents, including children, are completely absent. Russian occupation forces are deliberately blocking people's exit and obstructing the supply of essential consumer goods, food, and medicine.

The population has fallen from 40,000 to around 6,000 people, while in Oleshky itself it has declined from 24,000 to around 2,000.

As Rubryka reported, in May, the Ukrainian side was negotiating an urgent humanitarian evacuation of civilians from temporarily occupied settlements in Kherson region, where the situation had become critical due to the fighting. The settlements included Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Stara Zburivka, and Nova Zburivka, where people remained without food, drinking water, and medicine.