Russia is turning occupied town of Oleshky into death trap: road out of town is mined, and bodies lie in streets and in houses, - Sybiha

Ukraine’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, stresses that the Russians are attempting to turn the Ukrainian town of Oleshky in the Kherson region into a death trap.

This is reported by Censor.NET, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The situation in Oleshky

According to Sybiha, around 1,700 people remain trapped in the devastated city. The only road out is mined and is being monitored by attack drones. Those who try to escape risk being killed. The nearby river is also mined. Residents doubt they will survive this winter.

Furthermore, the hospital has run out of medicines. Dozens of bodies lie in the streets and in houses, as the Russians are forbidding residents from burying the dead.

Families are going hungry, surviving on leftover vegetables, home-made preserves and even snails. According to residents, Russian soldiers threatened them with weapons, demanding that they hand over their food.

"Ukraine has repeatedly called for the safe evacuation of civilians and international humanitarian access. These calls cannot go unanswered," the Foreign Minister emphasised.

An appeal to international organisations

The Minister called on the UN, the ICRC and all partners to use every available channel to ensure safe evacuation corridors and immediate access for humanitarian aid to Oleshky, emphasising that Russia must stop obstructing efforts to rescue the civilian population.

Sybiha thanked all the partners and people around the world who have spoken out and become the voice of the residents of Oleshky.

He also expressed his gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for his appeal to Putin to declare a ceasefire in Oleshky so that humanitarian aid could be delivered to the town.

"People cannot survive on expressions of concern alone. They need concrete action. They need a way out of there. And they need it immediately," said Sybiha.

Humanitarian disaster in Oleshky

At the end of March 2026, Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada’s Commissioner for Human Rights, appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Russian side regarding the humanitarian disaster in the occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region.
It is known that around 2,000 civilians remain cut off from the outside world in the occupied town of Oleshky.
The Regional Military Administration also reported that the bodies of the deceased have remained unburied for weeks, and that the logistics infrastructure has been completely destroyed – the occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region is under a complete humanitarian blockade.
The International Committee of the Red Cross is trying to obtain information about the situation in the occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region.
Ombudsman Lubinets stated that the residents of Oleshky are being prepared for evacuation.
Earlier, Tetiana Hasanenko, head of the Oleshky City Military Administration, reported that in the occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region, people are starving due to a lack of supplies, and some families have already started eating dogs.
At the end of September 2026, drones were used to deliver around 4,000 kg of food to 100 locations across the city.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia is producing staged videos in Oleshky. Local residents will be forced to say on camera that they are happy, well-fed and grateful to the Russian occupiers.