17 May 2026
(Photo: Facebook\Ksenia Arkhipova)
32 people have been evacuated from the temporarily occupied Oleshky on the left bank of the Kherson region.
This was reported by Krym.Realii with reference to Ksenia Arkhipova, a native of the town and a volunteer who coordinates the delivery of food to the settlement and helps local residents leave for safe places.
"Another 32 people were able to leave for the safe zone. I am grateful to everyone who made Oleshky safe today," Arkhipova wrote on Facebook.
According to volunteers and Ukrainian officials, since December 2025, Oleshky has been under a complete blockade. All roads to the town are mined and under fire control, making it impossible to conduct a mass evacuation.
The town is also facing a critical shortage of food and medicine. Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and the International Committee of the Red Cross are trying to organize a large-scale evacuation of civilians from the blockaded city.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said that more than 6,000 residents of Oleshky were isolated with no way to escape the war and humanitarian decline. The Ukrainian authorities, together with international organizations, are preparing mechanisms for the evacuation of civilians from dangerous settlements.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also emphasized that the Russian occupiers are blocking the departure of the population and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and essential goods. As a result, local residents, including children and people with limited mobility, are forced to live without adequate access to food, drinking water, medical care and basic living conditions.
In addition, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the situation in Kherson and the temporarily occupied part of the Kherson region, in particular in Oleshky, is "particularly difficult". According to him, the evacuation of people from the left bank of the region remains extremely difficult.
Андрій Колісніченко