Ukraine initiates urgent OSCE review of humanitarian catastrophe in occupied Oleshky
The minister emphasized that Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to expose Russia's cynical military propaganda and ensure the international community knows the truth about events in Oleshky.
Sybiha stressed that the situation in Oleshky is critical and demands immediate action from the international community.
"I call on the Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE and all participating states to condemn the aggressor and exert maximum pressure on Russia. Oleshky urgently needs humanitarian aid, and Russia must be forced to grant immediate access," the message reads.
Background
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine constantly draws international attention to the severe deterioration of the humanitarian situation in certain areas of the temporarily occupied Kherson region due to crimes by Russian occupiers, who grossly violate international humanitarian law.
The situation in Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Stara Zburivka, and Nova Zburivka in the Kherson region is of particular concern, as the basic conditions needed to meet residents' needs, including children's, are entirely absent. Russian occupiers artificially block people from leaving and create obstacles to the supply of basic consumer goods, food products, and medicines.
The population has dropped from 40,000 to around 6,000 people, and in the city of Oleshky specifically, from 24,000 to roughly 2,000.
In May, the Ukrainian side held negotiations regarding the urgent humanitarian evacuation of civilians from temporarily occupied settlements in the Kherson region, where active fighting created a critical situation. This specifically concerns Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Stara Zburivka, and Nova Zburivka, where people remain without food, drinking water, and medicine.
Earlier, Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha declared a critical humanitarian situation in temporarily occupied Oleshky, Kherson region. According to him, civilians, including children, remain without sufficient food, medicine, clean water, electricity, and medical care. He called on the UN, the ICRC, and other international organizations to ensure humanitarian access and safe evacuation of people.
Additionally, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations called on Pope Leo XIV and international organizations to facilitate humanitarian assistance and the evacuation of residents.
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets stated that Russia has consistently refused to confirm its readiness to organize a humanitarian mission to evacuate civilians from Oleshky.
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