Russian troops seize Ukrainian-dropped food from residents in occupied Oleshky

Russian troops in Oleshky, a town in Kherson Oblast occupied by Russian forces, have taken food parcels from local inhabitants who had received them dropped by drone from Ukrainian forces the day before. Tetiana Hasanenko, the head of the Oleshky City Military Administration, informed Ukrinform about the seizure. Ukrainian forces had managed to supply around 4 tons of food by drone to the occupied Oleshky the previous day.

Hasanenko noted that similar actions had occurred before, but this was the most significant food delivery to date. She confirmed that Russian troops were seizing the food packages from the local residents. The occupiers questioned the origin of the food, asking where it came from, and accused Ukrainian forces of cooperation. Meanwhile, residents continue to disappear in the Oleshky community, with some taken away to basements without any information about their fate.

In early September, a German newspaper reported that Oleshky was under a humanitarian blockade, and residents had to rely on their own gardens for sustenance, facing the threat of starvation as the growing season ended. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets stated that Russia had not confirmed its readiness to evacuate civilians from Oleshky, despite previous agreements.

The City Military Administration reported that the last food delivery into the Russian-occupied city was on May 26. Residences had previously resorted to consuming dog meat. On September 20, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced that Ukraine would address the situation in Oleshky and other occupied communities in Kherson Oblast at the U.N.

General Assembly. On September 26, Sybiha appealed to international organizations to mobilize resources for delivering aid to Oleshky. On September 27, Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported that Ukrainian forces had recently delivered 4,000 kilograms of food by drone to residents in 100 different locations across the occupied Oleshky.