Starving Ukrainians Are Risking Death to Escape Their Front-Line Town

Live updates

1. 1h ago

   Starving Ukrainians Risk Death on Mined Road to Flee Oleshky

   Residents in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky face severe starvation and a humanitarian catastrophe, forcing them to travel by foot and bicycle along mined routes known as the road of death to find food and water. The city lacks electricity, food, and medicine, and every exit is blocked and mined by Russian troops. Maria Zakhavko and her husband decided to flee after nearly two months passed without any food deliveries to the city. Other residents survive by boiling grass and leaves or maintaining contact through intermittent phone calls.

   Why it matters

   Oleshky, located in Ukraine's Kherson region, has lived under Russian occupation since 2022. The city suffered severe infrastructure destruction in 2023 when the Kakhovka dam was blown up, flooding residential blocks. The unfolding crisis has drawn international attention, including a demonstration in Tokyo highlighting the plight of trapped civilians.

   What is confirmed

   • Residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky in southern Ukraine face starvation and risk deadly minefields and drone fire to seek food and water.
   • Oleshky has been cut off with no electricity, food, or medicine, and every way out is mined and blocked by Russian troops.
   • The city's infrastructure was previously destroyed by flooding after the Kakhovka dam was blown up in 2023.
   • Maria Zakhavko and her husband decided to leave Oleshky after nearly two months passed without any food deliveries.

   What to watch next

   • Whether humanitarian corridors or official evacuations will be permitted by occupying authorities
   • Reports of further successful or failed civilian escapes along the road of death
   Sources used for this update (14)

   1. www.sandiegouniontribune.com — San Diego Union-Tribune
   2. www.atlanticcouncil.org — Starving Ukrainians must travel ‘road of death’ to flee ...
   3. www.themoscowtimes.com — In Russian-Occupied Oleshky, Civilians Struggle to Survive as ...
   4. meduza.io — ‘The smell of death is everywhere’: Inside the humanitarian ...
   5. The Moscow Times — In Russian-Occupied Oleshky, Civilians Struggle to Survive as Hunger Deepens
   6. WSJ — Starving Ukrainians Are Risking Death to Escape Their Front-Line Town
   7. Reuters — People in Russian-occupied Ukrainian town risk 'road of death' to get food
   8. Meduza — ‘The smell of death is everywhere’: Inside the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Russian-occupied Oleshky, where hundreds are trapped without food, electricity, or medicine
   9. Рубрика — Grass and leaves on plates: Tokyo demonstration highlights humanitarian crisis in Oleshky – Rubryka
   10. www.timeslive.co.za — Russian-occupied Oleshky residents risk ‘road of death’ to ...
   11. www.jfeed.com — Ukraine's Oleshky: residents risk mined road for food | JFeed
   12. www.straitstimes.com — People in Russian-occupied Ukrainian town risk 'road of death ...
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