"Bodies are being eaten by dogs": Testimonies from the hunger-stricken city under Russian control

Residents of occupied Oleshky report severe hunger, bodies in the streets, and limited humanitarian aid. About 2,000 civilians, including 50 children, remain without food and medicine. Ukraine dropped aid using drones, but Russia refuses a ceasefire for evacuation.

Residents of the city of Oleshky, under Russian occupation across the Dnipro River from Kherson, describe a severe humanitarian situation. About 2,000 civilians, including 50 children, remain in the city and nearby villages without food and medicine, starving. Residents report that bodies remain in the streets and are being eaten by dogs, due to the danger of drones preventing their removal. Over the past weekend, the military authorities in Kherson conducted a large-scale airdrop of humanitarian aid—food, water, and medical supplies—using large drones, after Russia rejected a request for a ceasefire to evacuate civilians. The Kherson military governor's office reported that about four tons of food were dropped at 100 points, but it is unclear how much was intercepted. Residents describe drastic weight loss and subsisting on one meal a day. Since May, food supply to the city has completely stopped due to minefields and Russian drone coverage. Russian soldiers steal remaining food and confiscate dropped aid. A Kremlin spokesman acknowledged the 'critical situation' but blamed Ukraine. In response, Ukrainian officials claim Russia is preventing civilian evacuation and using them as human shields. Tetyana Khasnenko, head of the Oleshky military administration on the Ukrainian side, described the murder of an elderly man by Russian soldiers. The Ukrainian foreign minister raised the situation at the UN General Assembly and warned of a humanitarian catastrophe.