Trapped in the front-line Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine, roughly 2,000 remaining residents face a severe humanitarian crisis with no stable power, water, or fresh food deliveries since spring, forcing civilians to risk mine-strewn escape routes as prices for basic supplies soar.
The situation in Oleshky, located on the southern bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, has deteriorated sharply. Once home to 24,000 residents before the full-scale war, the city’s population has dropped to approximately 2,000 people, including around 47 to 50 children, according to figures cited by Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, and regional officials as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Before the situation reached this critical juncture, Ukrainian volunteers were able to take in food and evacuate people, but supplies became unreliable late last year and deteriorated significantly after May.
Medical supplies have also vanished from the town. Medicines are out of date, and patients with chronic conditions must ration their remaining supplies; one resident described having to reduce their father’s Parkinson’s medication dose by 25 percent so it would last until the new year, while expired pills are sold at the market for around 100 rubles. Beyond Oleshky itself, the Skhid-SOS fund reported that four villages in the Hola Prystan community—Kokhany, Kardashynka, Velyka Kardashynka, and Mala Kardashynka—are effectively blocked, with no transport reaching them and no humanitarian aid delivered for a prolonged period.
Soaring Market Prices and the Search for Basic Sustenance
Inside the blockaded city, remaining civilians face astronomical prices for scarce goods. Market prices have climbed to levels where basic staples are out of reach for many. Residents have reported paying 500 rubles (about $6) for small items, while a dozen eggs can cost up to 3,000 rubles (about $36) if found according to Euromaidan Press. That amounts to roughly $3.60 per egg, which is nearly 20 times the United States average. Other residents reported that a single sack of potatoes cost 7,000 rubles.
Other accounts detail extreme local inflation and severe physical toll. Some residents have learned to cook with weeds, wild pigeons, or pheasants, while others prepare borscht using whatever scraps remain. Speaking to regional outlets, local families described drastic weight loss, with individuals dropping 10, 20, or even 40 kilograms amid sustained nutritional deprivation, while some people are reduced to eating just once a day—a thin piece of flatbread with tomato and salt or honey, or surviving on grass when other supplies are exhausted.
The Mined Highway Known as the Road of Death
With official humanitarian corridors stalled, escaping the city or sourcing provisions from nearby settlements requires navigating heavily mined and drone-targeted routes. Residents attempting to reach towns like Radensk traverse a 20-kilometer stretch that locals and evacuees have dubbed the road of death.
Footage shared by Ukraine’s 34th Separate Marine Brigade “Borysfen” displays dozens of burnt-out and abandoned civilian vehicles along the route, alongside heavily damaged residential and administrative buildings.
Official Responses, Drone Deliveries, and Evacuation Impasses
Ukrainian authorities and human rights organizations have repeatedly raised alarms over the conditions in Oleshky. Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that civilians in the occupied area are dying of hunger every day, noting that Russia forces civilians to choose between staying and dying of hunger or leaving and risking being blown up by a landmine. Lubinets also stated that Kyiv had offered a local ceasefire and evacuation routes to residents who wanted to leave, but that Russia had rejected the proposal.
In an effort to mitigate the starvation, Ukrainian forces have utilized unmanned aerial vehicles to drop food parcels. Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi reported that nearly 400 parcels weighing almost 4 tons reached drop-off points during an operation on October 4, conducted by the 11th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine named after Mykhailo Hrushevskyi and the 34th Kherson Regiment as detailed by Rubryka.
However, local officials note that distribution remains chaotic. Tetiana Hasanenko, head of the Oleshky City Military Administration, stated that Russian troops frequently confiscate drone-delivered supplies, and that some residents receive multiple packages while others receive none. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has acknowledged the situation in the town as critical, but accused Kyiv of preventing civilians from leaving and claimed that Ukrainian drones attack convoys carrying humanitarian aid.
