Food supplies to the Ukrainian town of Oleshky, in the occupied part of the southern Kherson region, have been cut off since May.
On September 20th, what were you doing?
In Oleshky, Ukraine, a husband and wife were bringing home a bag of food from the closest neighbouring town of Radensk, 23km (14 miles) away, but were unable to get home before a curfew imposed by Russian occupation authorities. They were then killed by what Ukrainians call a “safari” drone. Remote operators use small military drones carrying explosives to stalk, chase, and detonate on individual civilians, such as street vendors, cyclists, rescue workers, and this couple.
Oleshky Image from the MIHR site
Oleshky
Maybe you missed a 25-second clip on the 6:00 news about Oleshky. It was in and out of the western news cycle.
The Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky, is constantly shelled and cut off from food and water.
The last food delivery to Oleshky took place on 26 May. No subsequent attempt has succeeded.
The BBC reported, citizens are now eating weeds to survive.
Tetiana Hasanenko, Head of Oleshky City Military Administration, said that in winter it will be impossible to walk to Radensk or other settlements to obtain food because the ground will freeze and be covered with snow, while all routes out of the city and the surrounding fields are littered with mines.
No Chance
And there is no chance of rescue. People have two options: either die of hunger or be hit by a drone or artillery fire and killed. There is no third option. The chances of staying there without food and surviving are zero.”
The Oleshky region includes 12 settlements besides the city. There were 13 settlements in total and the population was 40,000. Five settlements were completely destroyed, so no one lives there.
There are 6,000 people left in Oleshky. “These people must be rescued because the town has become a death trap.”
Russia alone can create a “green corridor” for escape. Efforts by Kyiv to negotiate the evacuation of civilians with Moscow have been largely unsuccessful.
The residents of Oleshky are desperate. “They had hoped that the evacuation would begin at any moment. But what now? I can’t give them any hope at all.”
Drones to The Rescue
On September 27, Ukrainian drone operators dropped four tonnes of food at 100 different locations in the Russian-occupied community of Oleshky.
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.
I don’t even know where to begin other than sharing this information with REVwords readers. Pray for a route to be opened up. Pray for the children trapped in this community.
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