“There is real hunger there”: Oleshky, occupied town in Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast, turned 942 this week. Behind Russian blockade, its people eat roadside grass

The people of Oleshky, a town in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast, are facing severe starvation due to a Russian blockade. The town, which celebrated its 942nd anniversary this week, has been under Russian control since late 2025, with no food allowed in or out. The blockade, enforced by Russian forces, has left the town cut off from aid and its residents trapped with no way to escape.

Natalia Soboleva, an Odesa volunteer tracking the town, reported that many Oleshky residents are now foraging for grass and eating whatever they can find in bombed-out basements. Hundreds of abandoned animals are also starving, and the remaining residents share their meager rations with them. Despite repeated attempts, humanitarian convoys have been repeatedly attacked, with the last one resulting in Russian troops shelling four volunteer cars on September 1st.

While Ukraine's human rights ombudsperson has documented the residents' desperate situation, Russia has consistently refused to open a humanitarian corridor that could save the town. Officials stress that the one solution to the starvation would be the establishment of such a corridor, but Russia has ignored all calls for it.