Last Residents in Russian-Occupied Oleshky Report Dire Food Shortages

Residents still living in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, in southern Ukraine, say food supplies have completely run out, leaving roughly 2,000 civilians in the city and surrounding villages without adequate provisions, according to The Guardian.

A phone message sent out of the besieged city described the situation in blunt terms: “We're in Oleshky [and] we can't get out. We're going hungry ... Right now, I've got absolutely nothing to eat,” the message read, according to the report. It was reportedly sent by a woman in the city who was waiting to be evacuated by the occupying forces.

Oleshky, on the left bank of the Dnipro River, has faced severe hardship since flooding and ongoing fighting cut off routine supply lines to the area. The Guardian's report described conditions in the city as dire, noting that bodies have reportedly been left exposed because of the danger posed by drone strikes to anyone attempting recovery.

The account underscores the difficulty of delivering humanitarian aid to communities caught on the front line of the war, where active combat and the risk of drone attacks have made both evacuation and resupply efforts extremely hazardous for civilians and aid workers alike.

It remains unclear from the available reporting how many residents remain in Oleshky and the surrounding villages, or what plans, if any, exist to evacuate them or restore supply routes into the area.

The situation in Oleshky reflects the broader toll the war has taken on civilian populations living near the front lines, where communities have repeatedly found themselves cut off from food, medicine and safe passage as fighting continues.