Oleshky on the verge of survival: Ombudsman declares humanitarian catastrophe

In Oleshky, the humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating, with residents living without basic facilities and risking their lives every day. The town is effectively cut off from adequate supplies, and any attempts to deliver aid are fraught with mortal danger.

The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, said that there have been no changes despite appeals to international organizations and the Russian side.

According to him, the city suffers from a catastrophic shortage of drinking water, lack of stable electricity and gas supply, and limited access to medical care.

Local residents are forced to survive in conditions of constant shortage of resources - they save water and food, trying to hold out for another day. At the same time, the delivery of food and humanitarian aid to the settlement remains extremely dangerous: transportation is often disrupted and drivers risk their lives.

Despite numerous appeals to international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, there have been no significant changes. The issue of establishing humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and the delivery of aid remains unresolved.

According to international humanitarian law, the occupying power is obliged to provide the civilian population with food, water and medical supplies, as well as to facilitate humanitarian missions. However, the situation in Oleshky shows a systematic disregard for these requirements.

The city, which lived an ordinary life before the full-scale invasion, has now turned into a territory of daily survival, where the main question for people is whether they have enough resources to survive another day.

According to local authorities, the situation in the city has been critical for over a month. The occupation administration is not only unable to organize the supply of necessary goods, but also actually blocks the delivery of food, which is why the aid reaches people only sporadically and does not solve the problem systematically.

The city was under a de facto blockade at the end of 2025. According to the locals, the roads are mined, spikes are scattered on the highways, and any transport is regularly attacked by drones. People call the only exit from Oleshky the "road of death."

Анна Бальчінос