Ukraine delivers 4 tonnes of food to besieged Oleshky as Russian forces block aid and evacuation

Ukrainian forces have air-dropped roughly four tonnes of food into Oleshky, a city in the Kherson region that has been under Russian occupation since February 2022. The operation, carried out by the 34th Separate Marine Brigade "Borysfen," is one of the largest drone-aid missions of the war and aims to reach an estimated 2,000 civilians still trapped in the town.

Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, said Russian troops have been shooting down food-carrying drones, confiscating or reselling supplies that land, and detaining residents found with humanitarian parcels. He added that soldiers are conducting house-to-house searches for dropped aid.

The regional administration estimates the current population of Oleshky at about 2,000, including nearly 50 children, down from roughly 25,000 before the invasion. The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations puts the figure higher, at more than 6,000 people in the city and surrounding area.

Conditions have deteriorated since the June 2023 destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, which flooded the region, destroyed homes and disrupted water and sewage systems. Residents now rely on personal gardens for food, face chronic medicine shortages and move between abandoned buildings to avoid looting and drone raids.

Ukraine's foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, urged international organisations to secure humanitarian access, saying Russia is deliberately provoking a humanitarian catastrophe by blocking food, medicine and evacuation efforts. The International Committee of the Red Cross has prepared a humanitarian evacuation plan, but Russian authorities have not confirmed their willingness to allow the mission.

Michael O'Flaherty, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed alarm over the rapidly worsening crisis, noting that civilians, including children, lack sufficient food, medicines, running water and electricity and face a high risk of death. He reminded Russia of its obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure the occupied population's access to basic necessities.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the critical situation in Oleshky but attributed the difficulties to actions by the Ukrainian authorities.