Thousands of people imprisoned in Ołeszki. The only escape route is mined

Negotiations are underway to evacuate the inhabitants of Oleski and six neighboring towns occupied by Putin's troops. About 6,000 may remain there. civilians, including 200 children. The only possible route is mined and is additionally under surveillance by attack drones. The nearby river is also mined. Ołeszki are located approximately 4 km from Kherson, on the left bank of the Dnieper, occupied by Russia.

We are currently starting to agree on the final details regarding ensuring the ceasefire and evacuation of all those willing to leave Ołeszki (...). So, let's say, difficult issues remain, but I hope that we will all see concrete results from these talks in the near future. We are conducting talks every day so that people can leave, said human rights spokesman Dmytro Lubinec on Espreso TV station.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said on Saturday that Russian troops were turning Oleski into a "death trap" rife with hunger, and appealed to international organizations to help evacuate its inhabitants. According to the minister, about 1,700 people are trapped in the city alone.

The only exit road is mined and under surveillance by attack drones. People trying to escape face death. Residents doubt whether they will survive the winter. "We call on the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and all partners to use all available channels to ensure safe evacuation corridors and immediate humanitarian access to Oleski. Russia must stop obstructing efforts to save civilian lives," Sybiha wrote on the X platform.

The head of the city administration, Tetiana Hasanenko, announced earlier that about a hundred bodies lie in the basement of the hospital in Oleski because the Russians do not allow them to be buried, and residents risk their lives by leaving the city in search of food. People die there every day. Hasanenko works in Kherson.

Russian troops occupied Oleski in the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In June 2023, the city was flooded following the destruction of the dam on the Dnieper in Novaya Kachovka by the Russians.