UKRAINE WARNS RUSSIAN HELD OLESHKY IS BECOMING A “DEATH TRAP” AS FOOD AND MEDICINE RUN OUT, DEMANDS EMERGENCY UN AND RED CROSS ACCESS
Ukraine has warned that Russian occupied Oleshky in the Kherson region is facing a worsening humanitarian emergency, with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha saying residents are experiencing severe shortages of food and medicine and calling for immediate intervention by the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross. Around 1,700 civilians, including 47 children, are believed to remain in a town that had approximately 24,000 residents before Russia’s full scale invasion. Independent UN reporting has previously documented serious food shortages, limited medical care, dangerous roads and difficulties evacuating civilians. Russia has acknowledged shortages but says its forces are working to address them and blames Ukrainian military activity for some access problems. Sybiha’s latest allegations concerning deaths and restrictions on burials have not been independently established.