‘The smell of death is everywhere’: Inside the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Russian-occupied Oleshky, where hundreds are trapped without food, electricity, or medicine
Since 2022, residents of Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region have lived under occupation. In 2023, the city was flooded after the Kakhovka dam was blown up: the flooding destroyed dozens of residential blocks and all of its infrastructure. In the fall of 2026, Oleshky found itself cut off. There’s a humanitarian catastrophe there: the city has no electricity, food, or medicine. Every way out is…
From 2022, the residents of Oleshky in Ukraine's Kherson region have endured years of occupation. The city was hit by flooding in 2023 when the Kakhovka dam was destroyed, leading to a humanitarian catastrophe as the flooding destroyed many residential blocks and all infrastructure. By the fall of 2026, Oleshky found itself cut off, with no electricity, food, or medicine.
No way out is available as Russian troops mine and block all routes. Meduza spoke with people who have managed to stay in contact with those still trapped in Oleshky, and here's what they revealed.
Written by urgent.news from Meduza (English)'s reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
