Oleshky residents break through the blockade through mined roads

Occupied Oleshky is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis: residents have been living for months without sufficient access to food, medicine and healthcare. While negotiations on evacuation are ongoing, people are leaving on their own through minefields, checkpoints and a grueling route through Russia and Belarus.

This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism.

The occupied Oleshky in Kherson region is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises since the beginning of the full-scale war. After the Russians blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam in June 2023, most of the town was under water, and thousands of people lost their homes. Since then, the centralized water, gas, and electricity supply has not been restored.

The situation deteriorated sharply in late 2025, when Russian troops completely isolated the town and mined its entrances. Food, medicine, and even liquefied natural gas virtually stopped coming to Oleshky. According to the local military administration, about 1,700 people remain in the town, mostly elderly and mobility-challenged residents who live under the constant threat of air strikes and lack access to basic needs.

For several months now, the Ukrainian side has been pushing for the creation of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians. The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, reported on negotiations with Russia and the agreement on the technical details of the possible evacuation of about six thousand people, including 200 children.

According to him, due to security risks, transportation through the Dnipro is not being considered, so other evacuation routes are being sought. At the time of writing, no date for a ceasefire or the start of the evacuation operation has been announced.

While official arrangements remain uncertain, residents are trying to leave on their own. The only way out is through the dangerous road to Skadovsk, which people themselves call the "road of death" due to mines and the constant threat of drone attacks. Then the route goes through the occupied territories, Russia and Belarus to the only point of return to Ukraine at the border in Volyn region.

Volunteer Ksenia Arkhipova, a native of Oleshky, has helped more than two hundred people leave in recent months. She explained that it is impossible to wait for an official humanitarian corridor, as people are dying every day, and because of the constant shelling, the dead often cannot even be taken off the streets. The volunteer also said that people with Russian documents have more chances to leave, while for others, trying to leave the city often turns into a dangerous lottery.

In May, the Ukrainian military tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Oleshky residents using large drones. However, the occupiers began to actively shoot down drones carrying medicine and food.

Анна Літман