Investigative report links two Russian units to conditions in occupied Oleshki
Ukrainian outlet Slidstvo.Info says the 126th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade and the 331st Guards Parachute Regiment are operating in Oleshki, where residents face severe shortages amid ongoing conflict.
Ukrainian investigative site Slidstvo.Info has named two Russian formations that it says have been operating in and around the occupied town of Oleshki in Kherson region. The outlet identifies the 126th Separate Coastal Defense Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet, now part of Russia's Dnieper grouping, and the 331st Guards Parachute Regiment of the 98th Guards Airborne Division, both deployed in the Kherson direction.
Oleshki has been under Russian control since the early phase of the invasion, and the foreign ministry estimates about 2,000 people, including nearly 50 children, remain there with limited access to food, water and electricity. Russian forces have positioned artillery, mortars and mines in residential areas, according to Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, deputy head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration.
"Oleshki and its people are necessary for Russian troops so that Ukrainian troops cannot actively attack them in these settlements," Tolokonnikov told the Kyiv Independent.
He added that Russian authorities block Ukrainian and international humanitarian agencies from delivering aid. On September 27, Ukrainian forces air-dropped roughly four tons of food, which local volunteers reported reaching residents in about 100 distribution points.
The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O'Flaherty, warned on September 25 that occupying powers must allow civilian access to food, medical supplies and humanitarian assistance under international law.