War in Ukraine: Hunger grips Russian‑occupied Oleshky — how a town is dying

As world attention and international media focus on Iran or Dubai, a humanitarian crisis is developing in Oleshky on the left bank of Kherson region.

During the war in Ukraine, the town has been cut off: people lack food, and attempts to bring bread have resulted in civilian casualties.

TSN.ua has compiled what is currently known about the situation.

War in Ukraine: the situation in occupied Oleshky

Oleshky has been under Russian occupation since the first months of the full‑scale invasion — now four years. During this time, the town has repeatedly come under fire, parts of its infrastructure have been destroyed, and many residents have fled. Yet thousands remain.

According to Tetiana Hasanenko, Head of the Oleshky City Military Administration, no more than 6,000 people are left in the community out of the nearly 40,000 who lived there before the invasion.

Since mid‑January 2026, the situation has sharply worsened.

Tetiana Hasanenko says that in more than six weeks only one delivery of food has reached the town.

«Throughout this entire period, from mid‑January until today, I know of only one food delivery to Oleshky, ” she told Ukrinform.

All other attempts, she said, ended in tragedy. People were killed trying to bring bread into the town.

Hasanenko stresses that the situation has effectively turned into a blockade of civilians. She draws a parallel with Russia’s use of the «Leningrad blockade» narrative.

«Russia exploits the theme of the „Leningrad blockade“ and speaks of people’s suffering then. But what are modern Russians doing to our community? This is a road of death for civilians under drones. In Oleshky — is that not a blockade?» the head of the administration declared.

The road to Oleshky lies under drones and closed checkpoints.

According to local residents posting on social media, as of February 26 there is still no systematic delivery of food supplies. The town receives no real assistance from the Russian administration.

In practice, the only way to get food is to hope someone dares to break through the checkpoints. Each morning from 7:00 to 11:00, locals gather near the hospital at the «Start» stadium, waiting for a vehicle with food to arrive, they write online.

Over the past six weeks, eyewitnesses say only twice did small cars manage to break into Oleshky, bringing milk and vegetables on request. Both times the goods were gone in just 15 minutes — amid pushing and quarrels over the shortage.

The road to Oleshky has become a deadly route.

Residents reported that cars puncture tires on debris and barbed wire. Drones stop vehicles, forcing drivers to exit and raise their hands so the drone can confirm they are civilians.

Locals said that even if people manage to reach the town, returning is nearly impossible. At the Hola Prystan checkpoint, Russian forces refuse to let residents back into Oleshky.

Recently, a couple left Oleshky by car through the road near Hola Prystan. They bought food for themselves and neighbors, but on their way back the occupiers at the checkpoint did not allow them to return. The couple explained they were going home to elderly people needing medicine and food, but soldiers repeatedly told them: «Go back, let them die there.» This means the occupiers deliberately block Oleshky residents at the Hola Prystan checkpoint. Leaving is possible at personal risk, but returning is not, ” Yurii Fursa writes on Facebook.

In Oleshky, only one ambulance is functioning, traveling to Skadovsk once every two days. It delivers food only for the hospital staff and patients. Others wishing to leave the town are not taken.

«People are already experiencing hunger. Many have run out of food, some attempt barter, neighbors share preserved goods or grain. Local groups are now planning to walk from Oleshky to Radensk to get supplies, as there is no other option. They hope drones will not kill them, but fear Russian provocations. Theroute is 23 kilometers to Radensk, ” Yurii Fursa writes.

Oleshky lacks food, water, electricity and medicine

The head of the military administration confirms that limited transport has caused severe shortages. Several shops that had remained open are now closed. Residents rely on personal reserves.

Information received by the administration from locals indicates that homemade preserves, bakery products and locally produced food are available in some places. But this is critically insufficient for thousands of people.

Beyond hunger, residents face the absence of clean drinking water, electricity, gas and heating. Searching for firewood can end in tragedy — because of mines and unexploded ordnance.

The medical situation remains dire. The hospital operates in an extremely limited mode due to damaged infrastructure, shortages of staff and medicine. Only one pharmacy functions in the town, with a minimal range of drugs and no new supplies.

The problem of burying the dead is especially painful. Constant shelling and danger mean funerals are delayed for weeks, even months.

«Because of security risks, procedures are often delayed for long periods. Bodies can remain in the morgue for a month or more — and that morgue itself was recently hit by shelling, ” said Tetiana Hasanenko, Head of the Oleshky City Military Administration, in comments to Hryvnia.

Tetiana Hasanenko says Russian forces are obliged to provide for the basic needs of civilians under international humanitarian law. Yet, she says, this is not happening.

The situation in Oleshky increasingly resembles an isolated area, where residents face hunger, shelling and fear. While global attention is on other hotspots, civilians in the small Kherson town risk their lives daily for bread.

«Today Oleshky exists in a state of daily survival — between danger, lack of resources and hope for a return to normal peaceful life, ” Hasanenko says.