EU Parliament vice president starts Oleshky hunger strike

Italian European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno has embarked on a hunger strike to bring international attention to the dire humanitarian situation in Russian-occupied Oleshky, a town in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast, she announced on X on October 20th. The Italian lawmaker urged associations, citizens, and institutions to join her in demanding a humanitarian truce, food and medicine for residents, and safe evacuation for those wishing to leave.

Russia has been occupying the left bank of the Dnipro in Kherson Oblast since 2022, isolating Oleshky and leaving its remaining residents struggling with food and medicine shortages, according to Ukrainian officials and UN monitors. Oleshky once had 24,000 residents pre-wartime, but only 1,700 remain, including 47 children, as stated by Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

Picierno's protest joins the rising international pressure following Pope Leo XIV's request for a truce from Russian President Vladimir Putin to aid the town. "This battle cannot be mine alone," Picierno expressed, adding that her strike aims to support the efforts of Pope Leo XIV and others striving to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

As of the morning of October 21st, 277 people had joined her initiative, according to Liga. Despite these efforts, the danger of escape remains high due to mined areas, with those who stay at risk of dying from hunger, and those attempting to leave facing life-threatening dangers.