Oleshky, a Ukrainian city under Russian occupation in Kherson Oblast, is facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with more than 6,000 people, including around 200 children, potentially trapped there, according to Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

Civilians are going without food, drinking water, medicine, and other basic necessities while facing daily shelling and drone attacks, Lubinets said.

The crisis has become so desperate that some residents are trying to escape on their own without waiting for an organized evacuation, crossing mined fields because they see no other way out. They risk being killed by mines or Russian drones, but are attempting to leave because staying in Oleshky has become even more dangerous.

“People need to be saved,” Lubinets said, describing the city as a “death trap.”

Thousands remain trapped

Lubinets said his office has received 176 appeals concerning the humanitarian situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Kherson Oblast and has verified 358 people who urgently need assistance to safely leave the area.

He stressed that these are only people his office has managed to identify. Based on the population of Oleshky and the surrounding area, more than 6,000 people may still remain there, including around 200 children, he said.

The civilians remaining in the city are effectively in a “gray zone,” according to Lubinets. They face daily shelling and drone attacks while lacking food, drinking water, medicine, and other essential assistance.

“The stories make your blood run cold. And so there is only one task — to get our people out of this deadly danger,” Lubinets said.

“There is real hunger there”

Other reporting indicates that the shortages have persisted for months. According to Kherson Regional Military Administration head Oleksandr Prokudin, food deliveries to Oleshky have almost completely stopped, while Russian forces prevent residents from evacuating.

Natalia Soboleva, an Odesa volunteer who tracks the situation in Oleshky, told Espreso that residents are gathering grass and searching through destroyed basements for food.

“There is hunger there, real hunger,” she said.

The blockade has also affected humanitarian efforts. Soboleva said Russian forces attacked humanitarian vehicles attempting to bring food and water into the city. During the latest reported attempt on 1 September, Russian troops shelled four volunteer vehicles.

The crisis in Oleshky has been independently documented by international organizations and media. The UN, Human Rights Watch and the OSCE have all reported severe shortages of food and medical care, dangerous conditions for civilians, and restrictions on humanitarian aid and evacuation.

Russia has not confirmed evacuation, so civilians risk mines to escape

The ombudsman said some people are now trying to leave independently. They are crossing mined areas despite the risk of being killed by a mine or targeted by a drone because they do not see another way to escape.

This desperation has also been documented by Human Rights Watch, which said there is no organized evacuation route from Oleshky and that people attempting to leave face Russian military checkpoints and a dangerous journey through occupied territory.

Lubinets said Ukraine has been pressing for an organized humanitarian evacuation.

Ukraine and Russia had previously reached agreements and established clear procedures for such a mission, he said. Lubinets also secured the International Committee of the Red Cross’ readiness to participate within its mandate.

Ukraine prepared a list of people for evacuation and coordinated with its Security and Defense Forces to establish a ceasefire during the humanitarian mission.

But Russia has not confirmed its readiness to carry out the evacuation, according to Lubinets.

Months ago, he said, he informed international organizations, including the United Nations and the ICRC headquarters in Geneva, about the critical situation and called for assistance to prevent mass deaths.

Lubinets said his office continues to collect and verify information and coordinate with the ICRC, international organizations and Ukrainian authorities. It is also continuing to press Russia for an urgent evacuation of civilians remaining in Oleshky.

The situation is difficult to independently verify because Oleshky is under Russian occupation and access to the city is severely restricted. But reports of the humanitarian crisis have been corroborated by the UN, Human Rights Watch, the OSCE and other international organizations, as well as Ukrainian and international media.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says Europe will provide Ukraine with another €3.3 billion for missiles and drones as Russia intensifies attacks on Kyiv and seeks to make daily life in Ukraine's cities impossible.

Ukraine has repeatedly appealed to its partners for more air defense as Russia develops increasingly sophisticated ways to attack Ukrainian cities, while Ukraine’s stocks of air-defense interceptors have fallen to critically low levels.

Following a call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, von der Leyen said the EU would disburse the funds on 18 September. She also said the EU had approved funding for Patriot air defense systems through its Ukraine Support Loan.

Ukraine needs more air defense

Russia has increasingly combined large numbers of attack drones with ballistic and cruise missiles, forcing Ukraine to defend vast areas while facing shortages of high-end interceptors.

The most difficult targets are Russia’s ballistic missiles, which can reach Ukrainian cities within minutes and require specialized systems such as Patriot to intercept. Ukraine has repeatedly called for more Patriot batteries and interceptors as Russia increases missile attacks.

Ukraine also needs additional air defense capabilities to counter Russia’s increasingly sophisticated drone attacks. Russia is deploying faster, more advanced Geran-type drones that are more difficult to intercept, increasing pressure on Ukraine’s already limited air-defense stocks.

Von der Leyen said the EU had approved funding for Patriot systems last week, but acknowledged that “clearly more is needed.”

The new €3.3 billion package will fund the procurement of missiles and drones for Ukraine, strengthening its ability to defend against Russian attacks.

I just had a phone call with President @ZelenskyyUa.

Tomorrow we will disburse €3.3 billion for missile and drones in Ukraine.

Full read-out ↓https://t.co/UYDT9vn3zC

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 17, 2026

Europe proposes joint air defense development

Von der Leyen also announced that the EU is prepared to use remaining funds from its Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program to launch a new joint EU-Ukraine defense initiative.

The proposed program would focus on developing a European air and missile defense system, building on the jointly developed anti-ballistic Freya system.

The goal is to combine Ukraine’s battlefield experience and defense innovation with European technology and industrial capacity, according to von der Leyen.

The announcement comes as Ukraine is trying to strengthen its air defenses ahead of another winter of Russian attacks, when strikes against energy and other critical infrastructure could have an especially severe impact on civilians.

Von der Leyen calls for broader support

Von der Leyen said the EU has already mobilized nearly €15 billion for Ukraine in 2026, with additional support planned. She added that “more is coming.”

She also said Ukraine needs to complete reforms in the Verkhovna Rada to unlock further funding and continue its path toward EU membership.

“Europe is stepping up,” von der Leyen said. “Now others must step up their support too.”

Donetsk Oblast’s preliminary economic losses from Russia’s full-scale invasion exceeded 1.08 trillion hryvnias ($26 billion) as of 1 August 2026, according to data provided by the Donetsk Regional Military Administration to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Donbas.Realities project.

Donetsk Oblast has been at the center of Russia’s war against Ukraine since 2014, with the frontline running through the region and Ukrainian-controlled towns facing daily Russian attacks since 2022. Only about 30% of the oblast remains under Ukrainian control.

Industry accounts for most losses

According to the administration, businesses in the region’s real economy suffered more than 1.08 trillion hryvnias in losses, including lost profits, Donbas.Realities reported.

Industry accounted for 909.4 billion hryvnias ($22 billion) of the estimate, while the electricity and gas sectors suffered 156.5 billion hryvnias ($3.8 billion) in losses.

Agriculture accounted for 11.8 billion hryvnias ($285 million), transport for 1.5 billion hryvnias ($36 million), and other sectors for another 1 billion hryvnias ($24 million).

The losses among businesses operating in the social sphere were separately estimated at 100 million hryvnias ($2.4 million).

Full extent of damage remains unknown

The administration said its Department of Economy is collecting and consolidating information on losses caused by Russia’s invasion.

The regional administration said the figure is likely incomplete, as ongoing fighting and the scale of destruction make it impossible to determine the full extent of the damage.

“Determining the full extent of material damage caused in Donetsk Oblast is currently impossible,” the administration said, citing ongoing hostilities, the scale of destruction, limited access to damaged or destroyed sites, and the loss of documentation from occupied territories and areas of active fighting.

The administration emphasized that the figures are preliminary estimates and do not represent the region’s full material losses.

A final assessment can only be made after the security situation stabilizes and temporarily occupied territories are liberated, allowing authorities to properly document and assess the damage, it said.

Most of Donetsk Oblast remains under Russian control

About 30% of Donetsk Oblast remains under Ukrainian control, according to the regional administration.

The region has been a major battlefield throughout the full-scale war, with Russian forces continuing to attack Ukrainian-controlled areas while large parts of the region remain occupied.

The scale of the damage in Donetsk Oblast forms part of the much broader economic cost of Russia’s invasion. At the beginning of 2026, Ukrainian authorities and international organizations estimated Ukraine’s overall losses since the start of the full-scale invasion at more than $195 billion, Donbas.Realities reported.

Russia killed the captain of a Tanzanian-flagged civilian vessel and wounded three crew members in a drone strike in the Black Sea on 17 September, Ukraine’s Ministry for Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport said.

The ministry said Russia is “systematically attacking Ukrainian ports, port infrastructure and civilian commercial vessels,” threatening both people and international shipping in the Black Sea.

The vessel was heading toward one of Ukraine’s ports when it was attacked. The condition of the ship is still being assessed.

Foreign vessels repeatedly targeted

The latest attack follows a series of Russian strikes on foreign-flagged vessels serving Ukrainian ports.

In July, Russia struck the Turkish-owned bulk carrier GOLDEN LEO with cruise missiles as it left Odesa carrying grain, killing 10 people.

Russia also attacked two foreign-flagged cargo ships with drones in June, killing one sailor and injuring five others as the vessels were leaving Ukrainian ports.

In August, a Russian strike on port infrastructure in Odesa damaged a Togo-flagged civilian vessel and injured four people.

Attacks threaten Ukraine’s maritime trade

The repeated attacks have also disrupted Ukraine’s maritime trade route.

In July, Russian strikes on civilian cargo ships brought traffic through the Black Sea corridor close to a standstill at the height of the harvest, with shipowners temporarily stopping vessels from entering Ukrainian ports.

The Ukrainian ministry called for an international response and coordinated action to strengthen the protection of civilian shipping and the security of international logistics routes.