Ukrainian forces carried out one of the largest drone food delivery operations across the Dnipro to occupied Oleshky, dropping about 4,000 kg of supplies provided by partners at 100 locations across the city where people are trapped without food, electricity, or water, Kherson Oblast head Oleksandr Prokudin said on 27 September. Russian forces punish residents who receive aid—shooting down supply drones, confiscating packages, and beating people caught accepting food, he noted.

Oleshky—a city across the Dnipro from liberated Kherson—has been occupied since 2022. Russia sealed off the city in late 2025, and conditions worsened sharply in early 2026 as occupation forces cut off food supplies, prevented evacuation, and left the dead unburied. The drone flights are now the only humanitarian operation reaching the trapped population, making each sortie both a lifeline and a target for Russian forces that treat civilian starvation as a tool of control.

Multiple military units flew food across the Dnipro

Since March, Ukrainian forces have been systematically delivering food to Oleshky by drone in coordination with the 11th National Guard Brigade's Bolharychi unit and the 34th Separate Marine Brigade Borysfen, Prokudin said.

The latest operation expanded the effort: the 30th Marine Corps, the Hrim tactical group, the 34th National Guard Regiment, and the 79th Border Detachment joined alongside the Borysfen brigade and the Bolharychi unit.

"Instead of loud statements, we chose the path of concrete action," Prokudin wrote.

The deliveries fly across the Dnipro and drop food packages at pre-selected locations across the occupied city.

Prokudin said about 2,000 people remain trapped in Oleshky, including nearly 50 children. Ukraine's ombudsman and international monitors have put the figure at up to 6,000, with about 200 children.

Russia shoots down supply drones and beats residents for receiving food

Russian forces try to disrupt the deliveries. Soldiers shoot down drones carrying food, confiscate or resell packages meant for children and elderly residents, and detain people caught receiving humanitarian aid, Prokudin said. Residents are thrown into basements and beaten.

"Deliberate blocking of aid and creation of famine among the civilian population are war crimes with no statute of limitations. Everyone involved in these actions will face inevitable accountability," Prokudin wrote.

Ukraine prepared an evacuation list, secured the ICRC's readiness, and coordinated a ceasefire on its side, but Russia has not confirmed its readiness to open a route, Ukraine's ombudsman said.

Ukraine delivered 4,000 kg of food by drone across the Dnipro to occupied Oleshky

About 2,000 people, including nearly 50 children, are trapped there. Russia shoots down supply drones and beats residents for receiving aid, Kherson Oblast head Prokudin said.

TG/Oleksandr… pic.twitter.com/5AsHemMvCV

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) September 27, 2026

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty warned on 25 September that the humanitarian crisis in Oleshky is deteriorating rapidly. Civilians, including children, are trapped without food, medicines, medical care, running water, or electricity, and reports indicate a high risk of death, he said. Under international humanitarian law, Russia as the occupying power is obliged to provide the population with food and medical supplies, O'Flaherty noted, and called for an immediate local ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access, and safe evacuation of civilians.

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.