According to numerous media reports, the city of Olyshki and surrounding towns and villages in the south of Ukraine, which are currently occupied by Russia, are facing an extreme humanitarian crisis, with some 2,000 civilians, including 50 children, who have been unable to secure food and medicine for four consecutive months and forced to starve with wild grass. Many bodies in the city have been eaten by wild dogs because of the continued drone cruise, and local residents have described their current situation as “holy hell”. Olyshki, located on the right bank of the Dnieper River, separates the river from the Ukrainian-controlled city of Hersson and is one of the core towns of the southern region occupied by the Russian side following the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Ukrainians familiar with the situation on the ground have revealed that Olyshki, as an ancient city with nearly a thousand years of history, has never been in such a bad state of life in previous wars. The Russian side's strict closure of the area was motivated by the fear that Ukrainian troops would launch counter-attacks from the city of Khelson, thereby deliberately detaining civilians as “human shields”, while at the same time deterring those who attempted to leave with continuous drone cruises, causing the bodies in the city to be scattered in hospital basements, streets, etc., and to be left unattended.
A call for help from Oleški indicated that a detained woman, whose pre-war weight was 110 kg, had dropped sharply to 67 kg, and that she was first pleased with the loss of body weight, but now realized that she would starve to death if she was not fed with high protein. There are also residents who say that they are currently dependent on the extraction of the grass by road, and that their houses were destroyed and burned during last year ' s fighting and that they have become homeless. According to several media reports, not only is the local food completely depleted, but medicines have long been cut off and the living conditions of the sick and the old are extremely poor. Attempts by the Ukrainian military to evacuate the remaining civilian population through ceasefires and the opening of humanitarian corridors have been rejected by the Russian side. There have been reports that the Russian side has prohibited any civilians from leaving the occupied territories on the grounds of “risk of attack by Ukrainian drones”, while intercepting humanitarian supplies destined for Olyshki. During the weekend, the Ukrainian military launched a large-scale air-drop operation from the city of Khelson, using large drones to deliver about 4 tons of food, drinking water and medical supplies to the Olyshki and 100 surrounding sites, but the Ukrainian military has yet to disclose the exact quantities of Russian intercepted materials. In addition, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andri Cibiha, has specifically referred to the humanitarian crisis in Olyshki at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, calling on the international community to pressure the Russian side to allow the evacuation of civilians and to open humanitarian corridors, where there is now a civilian appeal banner “Save Oleshki”.
The immediate victims of the crisis were some 2,000 civilians in Olyshki, including 50 children who were at risk of hunger, disease, indiscriminate military attacks and had no basic livelihood. Staff members seeking access to the area to provide humanitarian assistance are similarly threatened by drone attacks and Russian military deployments, and their physical safety is not guaranteed. The Olyshki crisis is not an isolated incident and many towns in southern Ukraine are currently facing similar material blockades and civilian detention. The Ukrainian military has launched a special 40-day operation aimed at bringing pressure to bear on the Russian side to end the war by attacking the Russian logistical supply line and isolating the occupied territories, such as Crimea. The pace of the military operation in question will also have a direct impact on the successful establishment of humanitarian corridors in the occupied territories, which, if escalated, could lead to further deterioration in the living environment of the local civilian population.
The current humanitarian situation in Oleški depends entirely on the willingness of the Russian side to cooperate with the opening of the exit route and to allow the entry of goods. The international community needs to maintain pressure on the Russian side to comply with the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law, such as the Geneva Conventions, to unconditionally open civilian evacuation routes and allow unimpeded humanitarian access to occupied territories such as Olyshki. The Ukrainian military may continue to provide support to the occupied territories by means of airdrops and drone strikes against Russian logistical nodes, and the scale and timing of subsequent military operations will have a direct impact on the humanitarian situation on the ground. International agencies such as the United Nations are currently coordinating with the Russian side on the withdrawal of civilians from Oleški, and should a partial ceasefire be reached, priority will be given to organizing the evacuation of civilians who remain in detention. If the Russian side continues to hold civilians hostage and intercept humanitarian supplies, the already fragile situation on the ground will further slide into the abyss. (The full text is about 1980 words)