Ukraine’s military has used drones to deliver food and medicine to the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, the governor of Ukraine’s Kherson region said, as officials warn about a worsening humanitarian crisis.
Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Sunday that, in the latest operation, heavy-lift drones delivered about four tons of food and medical supplies to 100 locations across the town simultaneously.
Oleshky, a frontline town on the Dnipro River, which separates Russian and Ukrainian forces, has been under Russian occupation since 2022.
Prokudin said that close to 2,000 people, including about 50 children, were being held “hostage”, without food, electricity and water, and accused Moscow’s forces of preventing them from escaping the town.
Ukrainian officials have warned of the situation in Oleshky becoming more dire.
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Meanwhile, Russia is shooting down food deliveries, confiscating supplies that reach the ground and blocking evacuation.
Russian forces are blocking civilians from evacuating and actively obstructing drone deliveries.
Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, said troops are shooting down food-carrying drones, confiscating or reselling supplies that reach the ground, and detaining residents found with humanitarian parcels.
Soldiers are conducting house-to-house searches for dropped food, residents report.
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The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has said that residents have endured months of food shortages and “extremely limited” access to basic necessities.
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The Council of Europe warns civilians face "a high risk of death" with no food, medicine, water or electricity.
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