Ukraine Carrying Out Airdrops of Food Via Drone to City Besieged by Russian Forces, Official Says

Ukrainian officials have revealed that the military has been utilizing drones to deliver essential food supplies to the besieged city of Oleshky, located in the southern Kherson region. This city has been under Russian occupation for months, leaving its remaining residents in dire straits, with reports of people consuming dogs and weeds due to the lack of food.

Despite the presence of anti-personnel mines on the ground and the constant presence of drones in the sky, some brave individuals have managed to escape, as noted by Kherson regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin. Since March, Ukraine's defense forces have been conducting airdrops, most recently on Saturday night, delivering around 4 tonnes of food to 100 locations across the city.

Prokudin highlighted the dire situation, stating that Russians have taken around 2,000 Ukrainian citizens hostage, including nearly 50 children, who are suffering without food, electricity, or water. The governor also reported that Russian forces have brutally beaten some individuals attempting to collect the aid, and have reportedly taken some supplies for themselves.

Moscow has consistently denied targeting civilians, blaming Kyiv for the supply issues in Oleshky, which had a pre-war population of around 24,000 people. It is crucial to note that this region was annexed by Russia in September 2022 following sham referendums, although Russia lacked full control over the area since the beginning of the war in February 2022.

The Kremlin's strategic goal has been the Russification of these four Ukrainian regions, including Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, which has involved pressuring Ukrainian nationals to take up Russian citizenship and conscript them into the Russian armed forces.