Russian forces seize drone-delivered aid and civilians injured by mines in occupied Oleshky
One civilian was killed and four injured by landmines in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, while Russian troops confiscated food parcels dropped by Ukrainian drones and interrogated residents about non-Russian goods.
One person was killed and four others injured by landmines in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in Ukraine's Kherson region, local officials said. The casualties occurred as civilians attempted to leave the town along routes that are reportedly mined.
Tetiana Hasanenko, the exiled head of Oleshky's city military administration, told reporters that a man collecting nuts was killed by a mine and that four people who left the town at 6 a.m. stepped on another explosive. > "One woman suffered a back injury and injuries to her limbs. She was taken to the hospital on a bicycle. The others were transported in garden trolleys," Hasanenko said.
The town's hospital, operating without electricity, running water or basic medical supplies, relies on a generator that struggles to obtain fuel. Hasanenko said four elderly doctors continue to work there, but they can only stop bleeding due to a lack of medicines.
Ukrainian forces have conducted several airdrops of food to Oleshky this year, the latest delivering about four metric tons, according to Kherson governor Oleksandr Prokudin. Some residents reported receiving the packages, while others said Russian troops seized the aid. Hasanenko added that Russian soldiers question anyone found with products not made in Russia, treating possession as possible evidence of cooperation with Ukrainian forces.
Prokudin accused occupying forces of attempting to disrupt the deliveries, including shooting down aid-carrying drones, and of detaining residents who receive parcels. > "The occupiers are detaining residents of Oleshky for receiving humanitarian aid parcels, throwing them into the cellar, beating them brutally and resorting to violence," he said.
Ukraine's foreign ministry estimates roughly 2,000 people, including about 50 children, remain in Oleshky with severely limited access to food, water, electricity and medical care. The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission reported no food supplies reached the town between late May and late June. Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha warned that Russian authorities plan to produce propaganda videos portraying residents as "happy, well-fed, and grateful" to Russian forces, and called for increased international pressure to secure humanitarian access.