Kherson region

Ukrainian officials are raising the alarm over conditions in Oleshky, a town in Kherson region under Russian occupation since 2022. According to Kyiv, civilians trapped there are being deliberately starved and reduced to eating grass, which Ukraine describes as a war crime. The claim is being circulated widely, including to audiences in Brussels.

Reports from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in Ukraine's Kherson region say civilians trapped there are being starved, with residents allegedly forced to survive on grass and weeds. Commenters are calling attention to the plight of people under occupation in a European town, warning that Russian forces behave the same everywhere they seize territory, and urging the outside world not to look away.

The Council of Europe is warning of a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Oleshky, a Ukrainian city in the occupied Kherson region, and is calling for urgent attention and action. The appeal highlights worsening conditions for residents there amid the ongoing war, with access to basic needs reportedly under strain.

The humanitarian situation in Oleshky, a town in Ukraine's Kherson region under Russian occupation, remains dire as aid access stays limited for residents, many of them elderly, cut off after the Kakhovka dam destruction. Europe's human rights commissioner has demanded an 'immediate local ceasefire' to allow evacuation and delivery of essential supplies. The appeal has drawn attention to the plight of civilians in occupied territories.

Civilians in Oleshky, a town in Ukraine's Kherson region under Russian occupation, have received no food supplies since late May, and residents are reported to have resorted to eating dogs to survive. Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported the situation, which is being shared widely online and described by Ukrainian commentators as a war crime, with calls for international bodies to take notice.

Russian forces attacked critical and social infrastructure in Ukraine's Kherson region over the past day, damaging an apartment building and nine private homes, according to Ukrinform. At least one person was reported injured in the strikes. The attacks are part of ongoing Russian shelling of southern Ukrainian territory, which has repeatedly targeted power, water and other essential services relied on by civilians.

Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha says residents of Oleshky, in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson region, have 'nothing left to eat' and is calling on international partners to respond to the worsening humanitarian situation there. The appeal highlights growing concern over food shortages and access for civilians living under occupation along the Dnipro river.