Sybiha: Residents Of Oleshky Are Being Starved By Russia

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned during a UN Security Council meeting on September 23 that the world must not grow accustomed to Russia's war against Ukraine, as each tragic headline remains horrific. Focusing on the city of Oleshky in Kherson region, Sybiha emphasized that residents are under siege with food, medicine, electricity, and gas cut off.

With winter approaching, Russia is deliberately making life there impossible, leading to starvation, according to the Ukrainian official. No country or international organization can currently deliver aid to the isolated residents, who rely on a dwindling supply of resources. The last shipment of food to Oleshky arrived before the summer, and OSCE observers have described the situation as an organized blockade.

Russia is preventing residents from leaving the city and using them as human shields, Sybiha stated. He urged attendees to remember the desperate cry for help from Oleshky and demand that Russia open humanitarian corridors. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister stressed that Moscow is the sole cause of the catastrophe and the only obstacle to ending it.

Beyond Oleshky, Sybiha highlighted that more Ukrainian civilians have been killed during the first half of 2023 than in any comparable period over the previous four years. Russian forces have also committed nearly 900 documented acts of sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war, including 16 child victims. Sybiha emphasized that such actions cannot be considered normal.