City of 40,000 now holds only 2,000

Oleshky, occupied by Russian forces since 2022, has seen its population collapse from around 40,000 before the war to as low as 6,000, with only around 2,000 remaining in the city itself.

Residents describe conditions as hell on earth

Ukrainian officials and humanitarian workers told ABC News that Oleshky has become hell on earth, with thousands of remaining residents facing starvation and hundreds fleeing through a war zone littered with mines and bodies.

“hell on earth”

The blockade cuts off food supplies

Messages from residents describe careful rationing of remaining food, chronic medication shortages and constant drone attacks. One resident message stated the blockade is complete, with endless drones and fires like a horror movie.

“The blockade is complete”

Food convoy attacked on September first

On September first, a food supply convoy heading to Oleshky was attacked. Russian officials blamed Ukrainian armed forces, while Kyiv blamed Moscow's troops. The attack prompted a new wave of evacuees.

Escape route called the road of death

To flee, residents must reach Radensk, some fourteen miles east of Oleshky deeper into Russian-held territory. Ukrainian officials describe the route as the road of death, citing mines and drones covering the entire area.

“road of death”

Evacuation costs up to five hundred dollars

It can cost as much as five hundred dollars per person to flee Oleshky, with money going toward food, accommodation and payment for drivers willing to take them through occupied territory toward Ukrainian-held areas.

Residents lose documents to war and flooding

Many fleeing residents have lost identity documents in the flames of war or in devastating flooding that swamped the Kherson region after Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka dam in June 2023.

Checkpoints interrogate those without papers

Those stopped at Russian checkpoints face interrogation and possible detention. One evacuee was interrogated for four hours and accused of being a spy when she said her passport burned down in an attack.

“No, you are a spy”

Russian troops loot homes and steal food

Russian forces steal food and evict people from homes, particularly those with electricity, solar panels or generators. They use village roads to move ammunition and weapons while preventing residents from seeing military positions.

Dead Russian soldiers left in streets

Russian troops move through the city on foot while Ukrainian drones chase them. When they are killed, their corpses lie on the streets and are eaten by dogs, according to volunteer Kseniia Arkhipova.

“Then their corpses are lying on the street. These corpses are eaten by dogs”

Hospital on its last breath without fuel

Oleshky's hospital, a last lifeline for residents, has no fuel and no medicine. More than one hundred corpses lie in the hospital basement, which has had no electricity for four years.

Ukrainian military observes depressing conditions

Pavlo Drogal, spokesperson for the thirty-eth Marine Corps responsible for the Oleshky area, told ABC News that Ukrainian drones track huge deficits of drinking water, electricity and food products. The situation from the drone looks really depressing.

“The situation from the drone looks really depressing”

Ukraine denies mining roads to occupied areas

Drogal said Ukrainian units do not engage in remote mining of logistical routes or any other areas on the occupied left bank. The enemy conducts mining there, he said, and Ukraine does not attack its own people.

“The enemy conducts mining there. We do not attack our own people”

Russia blocks humanitarian aid, Ukraine says

Drogal said Russia fires on humanitarian transports and does not allow humanitarian aid to reach Oleshky. Ukraine observes this daily while making strikes only at representatives of Russian occupation troops.

“Do they fire on humanitarian transports? Yes. Do they allow humanitarian transports with humanitarian aid to Oleshky? No, they do not allow”

Foreign minister raises crisis at United Nations

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha raised the situation in Oleshky at the United Nations General Assembly high-level week in New York this week, warning of a humanitarian catastrophe and calling for immediate evacuation.

“Russia is deliberately making life there impossible. They are starving them to death”

Russia acknowledges critical situation

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov this month acknowledged the critical situation in Oleshky but accused Ukrainian forces of blocking humanitarian supplies intended for residents.

Three hundred waiting to evacuate

Some three hundred people are waiting to evacuate Oleshky, with forty-seven having already left in September. Relief requires demining roads, pausing all shelling and humanitarian buses to evacuate hundreds at once.

Some residents refuse to leave their homes

Even if relief comes, some Oleshky residents likely will not leave. They tell volunteers they are ready to live and die in their homes and will not abandon them, no matter the humanitarian crisis.

“I'm not going anywhere. This is my home. Why should I leave my home?”