Residents in Russian-occupied Ukrainian city eat weeds as food and water run short

Residents of Oleshky, a Ukrainian town under Russian occupation, have told the BBC they have resorted to eating weeds from their gardens as they face severe shortages of food and water in the besieged community.

People in the town described being under continuous bombardment, saying they are being "constantly shelled" as conditions in the occupied area continue to deteriorate.

Deteriorating conditions

The accounts point to a dire humanitarian situation in Oleshky, where residents say access to basic necessities like food and clean water has been severely disrupted, forcing some to turn to whatever they can find, including garden weeds, to survive.

The ongoing shelling described by residents adds to the danger faced by those still living in the town, compounding the difficulty of accessing supplies even if they were otherwise available.

The reports from Oleshky reflect the broader humanitarian toll faced by civilians in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, where continued fighting has disrupted essential services and supply lines for those who remain.