A humanitarian crisis is gripping Russian-occupied Oleshky as food deliveries stop and safe evacuation becomes nearly impossible

Oleshky (Alyoshki in Russian) is a city on the left bank of the Dnipro River, across from Kherson on the right bank. Only nine kilometers (about six miles) separate them in a straight line. People once crossed between them by bridge, but the bridge is now closed. The two cities are on opposite sides of the front: Ukraine controls Kherson, while Russia has controlled Oleshky since 2022. As in other cities near the front, life in Oleshky is difficult and dangerous. By September 2026, conditions had deteriorated so badly that people in both Ukraine and Russia were calling the situation critical.