Ukraine Seeks OSCE Action Over Oleshky Starvation Crisis

Thousands of civilians in Russian-occupied Oleshky, in Ukraine’s Kherson region, face severe shortages of food, clean water, medicine and basic utilities after regular aid deliveries stopped in late May, while dangerous, mined routes and alleged restrictions make evacuation difficult. Ukrainian officials and religious organizations have appealed for urgent humanitarian access and international intervention, including raising the crisis at the OSCE and UN; the United Nations has said Russia has not guaranteed safe access. Ukraine says Russian forces are blocking relief and keeping civilians from leaving, while Russia has blamed Ukrainian drone attacks for hindering deliveries. Estimates of those remaining vary widely, and reports of deaths cannot be independently confirmed; Ukrainian authorities say drones delivered about four metric tons of food and medicine to locations in the city in late September.