Ukrainian officials say they dropped four tonnes of food at 100 different locations in the Russian-occupied community of Oleshky, where there are fears that food has become so scarce that residents are resorting to foraging for weeds.
The operation, which involved several Ukrainian military units, was carried out in waves, with drones dropping boxes filled with food and cooking oil throughout the community, according to regional authorities.
Oleshky lies just three kilometres south of the Dnipro River, which forms the front line between Ukrainian forces — who control the city of Kherson and surrounding areas — and Russian forces occupying Ukrainian communities on the left bank of the river.
Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Oleshky had a population of about 20,000. Today, Ukrainian officials estimate that about 6,000 people remain in the city and surrounding area, including approximately 200 children.
“This [aid] will give people the opportunity to live there for up to a month,” Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, deputy head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, said in an interview with CBC News. But he warned that the solution could be short-lived.
Residents under ‘full blockade’ by Russian troops
Tolokonnikov said video from drones, which were launched on Saturday, confirmed that some residents had received the food, but Russian troops forcibly seized supplies from civilians in some cases, he said.
The Ukrainian military has carried out several other aid drops since April, but they were on a much smaller scale, he said.
In recent days, Ukrainian officials have warned that many residents of Oleshky are on the brink of starvation. Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha said residents were under a “full blockade” by Russian forces, which he said were refusing to allow humanitarian aid into the city.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Sybiha called on the international community to pressure Russia to allow humanitarian assistance into the city and open an evacuation corridor for residents who want to leave.
Russia, which seized Oleshky on the first day of its full-scale invasion more than four and a half years ago, has acknowledged that the city is facing critical shortages of food and medicine, but the Kremlin has said Russian forces are working to address the problems.
Oleshky has no functioning stores, and the nearest place where residents can obtain supplies is about 20 kilometres away, in the rural community of Radensk.
Bartering for food
Ukrainian officials say travelling out of Oleshky is extremely dangerous, and they’ve accused Russia of laying landmines around the area.
It is difficult to independently verify reports from inside the community as people living under Russian occupation fear reprisals for speaking publicly, and mobile connections can be unreliable.
CBC News has not been able to connect with any residents still inside the city but spoke by phone with a woman whose 70-year-old mother-in-law managed to leave Oleshky on Tuesday after walking for six hours.
“Over the last six months, their circumstances had deteriorated significantly,” the woman said. “People have been constantly searching for food. What they could obtain was sometimes just two potatoes and two pieces of garlic.”
The woman, who last spoke with her mother-in-law in early September, did not want her name published because the 70-year-old still lives in territory occupied by Russia.
She said she was told people have been bartering with their neighbours for supplies, exchanging things such as vegetables for eggs.
Desperate messages
Tetiana Hasanenko, the Ukrainian head of the Oleshky military administration who is working in exile, shared messages with CBC News that could not be independently verified that she received from local residents.
In one message, a resident described how some people have resorted to finding plants to eat.
“[People] are exchanging information about how to cook, basically, grass and weeds that grow in the gardens. Because there are no basic food products,” Hasanenko said in an interview via Zoom from the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv.
She said the area is constantly being shelled and that residents are losing limbs — and, in some cases, dying without adequate access to medical care.
Ukrainian officials said the aid drop carried out on Saturday had been planned for several weeks. Before the drones carrying the boxes of food were launched, officials said Ukrainian forces tried to clear the neighbourhoods of Russian positions and drones.
Tolokonnikov, of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, said the Ukrainian military had carried out several other aid drops since April, but they were on a much smaller scale.
Spotlighting Oleshky
The plight of Oleshky’s population has been garnering attention in Ukraine but less so internationally. In recent days, Ukrainians have been urging the international community to take notice by posting on social media and, in some cases, holding signs at sporting events.
Cory Woods, a Canadian who previously worked in humanitarian efforts in Ukraine before becoming a drone-interceptor pilot, said he has been disappointed that the situation has not received more attention globally.
“There’s a lot going on with talk of negotiations and peace negotiations for the war at large. All of that needs to be put on hold, and our focus needs to be on Oleshky and helping these people,” he said.
“At the very least, get food, water and, at best, get them out of there.”