"People are forced to survive on grass and weeds": Ukraine's FM warns of humanitarian crisis in occupied Oleshky
According to the minister, there is "almost nothing left to eat" in Oleshky, and reports indicate that some civilians are being forced to survive by eating grass and weeds.
Sybiha held Russia responsible for the humanitarian crisis as the occupying power and said the international community must use all available mechanisms to deliver aid to the city's residents and ensure the evacuation of those who want to leave.
He separately called on the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and other international organizations to use their mandates and channels to ensure immediate and unhindered humanitarian access.
A day earlier, on September 25, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty also warned of a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Oleshky. According to him, civilians, including children, are left without sufficient food, medicines, medical care, running water, and electricity and face a high risk of death. He called for humanitarian access, the safe evacuation of civilians, and an immediate local ceasefire.
Oleshky, on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson region, has been under Russian occupation since 2022. Under international humanitarian law, as O'Flaherty emphasized, Russia, as the occupying power, has a duty to provide the civilian population with food and medical supplies and to facilitate humanitarian relief.
Before Russia's full-scale invasion, Oleshky had a population of around 24,000. Today, around 2,000 people remain there, including about 50 children.
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28 of September 2026
