A humanitarian crisis is gripping Russian-occupied Oleshky as food deliveries stop and safe evacuation becomes nearly impossible

In the spring of 2026, Oleshky, a city on the left bank of the Dnipro River opposite Kherson, was already being described as experiencing a critical humanitarian situation. By September, even the Kremlin acknowledged the plight there, with officials stating it was "a humanitarian catastrophe, people are driven to despair." Residents were struggling to survive without food, electricity, and proper medical care, and were unable to leave safely or even bury their loved ones.

The situation was so dire that by late May, the U.N. mission in Ukraine reported that the last store in Oleshky had closed and that food deliveries had ceased.

Medical care was limited to urgent cases, with ambulances no longer responding to calls. Patients with severe conditions could not be transferred to other hospitals. People faced two major dangers when trying to enter or exit the city: drones overhead and mines scattered along the streets. Human Rights Watch highlighted that the shortages of food and medical care were exacerbated by the collapse of basic utilities, including the absence of electricity and gas, forcing residents to use wood-burning stoves.

In July, Human Rights Watch alleged that both Russian and Ukrainian forces had employed drones and mines in the region during the conflict.

By August, Russian occupation authorities within the Kherson region admitted that Oleshky and surrounding villages had no water or electricity, with unreliable communications and repair crews unable to make repairs due to shelling. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the situation as critical in September, attributing the obstacles to Ukrainian obstruction and Russian efforts to resolve the situation. The ongoing fighting and infrastructure decline were believed to have worsened the conditions in Oleshky.

In the autumn of 2022, when Russian troops withdrew from the right bank of the Dnipro and left Kherson, Oleshky became a frontline city. The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam's destruction in the summer of 2023 led to flooding in Oleshky, severely damaging its infrastructure. Despite Russian claims that Ukrainian attacks hindered repairs and food and medicine deliveries, conditions were deteriorating rapidly by early 2026, according to Oleshky's Ukrainian administration head.

Gardens provided sustenance to residents during the summer, but the winter remained uncertain, with reports of some resorting to consuming dogs. Contact with residents has become increasingly difficult due to the remote location and the dangers posed by drones and mines. Some residents reported resorting to bartering and consuming wild plants, while others expressed despair over the worsening circumstances.