Ukraine: The town of Oleshki has become a "death trap" plagued by hunger

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sipha said on Saturday that Russian forces are seeking to turn the Ukrainian town of Oleshki, located in an area controlled by Russia, into a "death trap" plagued by hunger, calling on international organizations to help evacuate its residents.

Ssibha made this comment on the X platform one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a conversation with the Pope, pledged to cooperate in delivering vital supplies to the town located in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.

Sibiha added: “The Russians are seeking to turn the Ukrainian town of Oleshki into a death trap. The hospital has run out of medicine, and dozens of bodies are dumped in the streets or inside homes, because the Russians are preventing residents from burying them,” he claimed.

He continued, saying: "Families are starving, living on leftover garden vegetables, canned food and even snails... Ukraine has repeatedly called for safe evacuation (of residents) and access for international humanitarian aid. These calls must not remain unanswered."

The Kremlin acknowledged in September that the town of Oleshki was facing serious problems with food and medical supplies, but said the Russian army was working to solve them. The Ukrainian army twice used drones to deliver food and medicine to the town.

Ssibha urged the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other organizations to "provide safe evacuation corridors and ensure immediate humanitarian access."

Oleshki is located on the eastern side of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, most of which Russian forces took control of shortly after the outbreak of war in 2022.

A Ukrainian counterattack later regained vast areas of territory, including the city of Kherson.

A few days ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation in Oleshki as "genocide."

Danielle Bell, head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, stated that the population of Oleshki before the war was 24,000 people, while now it is about 1,700, including 47 children.