Anton Gerashchenko@Gerashchenko_en
A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Russian-occupied Oleshky, Kherson region.
A Russian war crime on a massive scale. Those poor people...
Russia is effectively keeping the city under blockade: without fuel, electricity, medicine, and food. About 2,000 people currently remain in the city, including fifty children.
"There is no food supply or evacuation. People are faced with a terrible choice: to wait for death by starvation or to walk miles along mined roads in search of a piece of bread, at the risk of shelling," head of Kherson military administration said in an interview with Meidas Defense. Civilians have to walk 50 kilometers to Skadovsk, the regional center, to get provisions, apply for social assistance, receive pensions, etc., because none of these services is available in Oleshky.
Getting in and out of the city by vehicle is next to impossible. All transport moving along the road, referred to as "The Road of Death," is targeted by drones and shelling. Even if supplies are delivered, they rarely reach people, as Russian soldiers take up to 80% of deliveries and also steal from locals.
The situation is further complicated by the collapse of the water supply. The last time Russia installed water tanks was in 2024. Now, only those living in private houses can access well water, which is not tested for safety, while others rely on melted snow during the winter.
Due to the collapse of food and medical access, two or three deaths are reported daily, according to Tetiana Hasanenko, head of the Oleshky city military administration. The hospital is treating only Russian military personnel, she says.
The causes of death include malnutrition, heart attacks, traumatic amputations, blood loss, and hypothermia amid a severe winter and a prolonged heating crisis. According to Hasanenko, there are currently 318 identified victims, including 246 wounded and 72 dead. In many cases, identification is not possible.
📷: 34th Marine Brigade, Igrik Kherson/Facebook
