‘The blockade is complete’: Locals flee occupied south Ukraine as hunger deepens

Key Points:

• The southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky, under Russian occupation since 2022, faces severe humanitarian crisis with only about 2,000 residents remaining from a prewar population of 40,000, suffering from starvation, lack of medicine, and constant danger from mines and drone attacks.
• Recent attacks on food convoys and ongoing Russian military control have forced many residents to flee on foot through hazardous routes known as the "road of death," facing mines, drones, checkpoints, and extortion, with evacuation costs reaching up to $500 per person.
• Russian forces are accused of looting, evicting residents, and using civilians as human shields, while the local hospital is critically under-resourced and unable to provide adequate care, leading to unburied corpses and deteriorating living conditions.
• Ukrainian officials and humanitarian workers report that Russian occupation authorities block aid deliveries and show little interest in alleviating the crisis, with Ukrainian drone surveillance confirming the dire situation and Russian troop misconduct.
• Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the situation a "humanitarian catastrophe" at the UN, urging immediate evacuation and accusing Russia of deliberately starving residents, while international aid efforts remain largely ineffective amid ongoing conflict.