There are still 6,000 people in Oleshky and the surrounding villages, while Russia is hindering the evacuation

In Oleshky, in the Kherson region, which is occupied by Russian troops, the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. People are running out of food, water, and medicine, and the possibility of safely leaving the city remains effectively blocked.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada’s Human Rights Commissioner, spoke about this during a press conference, noting that the situation affects not only Oleshky but also the surrounding occupied settlements.

According to him, there may still be about 6,000 Ukrainian citizens there, including children.

He added that there has been a long-standing shortage of proper food, problems with water, and major issues with medication.

The Ombudsman explained that during negotiations with the Russian side, an evacuation mechanism was agreed upon, which the Russians initially supported. Ukraine, for its part, fulfilled all preparatory conditions and proposed specific steps.

However, the agreements have not yet been implemented. Lubinets expressed hope that the Russian side will ultimately fulfill its commitments regarding the evacuation of civilians.

Andriy Pasternak, a representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, explained that the Ukrainian side is attempting to verify every person who wishes to leave Oleshky. This involves verifying civilians to determine exactly who is being evacuated.

According to him, the Russian side does not agree with this approach, which is why the process is being delayed.

“The problem has one name—the Russian Federation. If it were up to Ukraine, we would have done this in a day,” Lubinets stated.

The situation in the city has been deteriorating for quite some time. Back in the spring, Ukrainian authorities reported that the population of Oleshky had dropped from approximately 24,000 to 2,000 people. In the surrounding occupied communities, a total of about 6,000 civilians may still remain, including about 200 children.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission also confirmed the critical nature of the situation in June. According to the mission, in 2026, at least 29 civilians were killed in Oleshky and Hola Prystan, and another 54 were wounded. Drone attacks and landmines were identified as the main threats to the population.

Due to the danger of traveling to Oleshky, the normal supply of food has effectively ceased.

On July 16, Ukraine called onthe Vaticanto help establish a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians from the Russian-occupied towns of Oleshky and Hola Prystan on the left bank of the Kherson region.

Ірина Глухова