Ukrainian churches appeal to Pope Leo XIV over starvation crisis in occupied Oleshky

Why it matters

A major Ukrainian religious body is appealing directly to the Pope and the UN, framing Oleshky as an imminent starvation crisis in a frontline occupied town where Russia is reported to be blocking civilian evacuation. The situation raises the question of whether international humanitarian access to occupied territory can be secured, combining destroyed critical infrastructure, months without food deliveries, and ongoing shelling and drone threats.

What happened

The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations appealed to Pope Leo XIV, the World Council of Churches, the World Evangelical Alliance, other religious leaders and human rights organizations to use all available opportunities to prevent people in occupied Oleshky from starving to death. The council simultaneously called on UN member states and the International Committee of the Red Cross to facilitate a humanitarian mission and the evacuation of Oleshky residents to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

According to various estimates, more than 6,000 people, including about 200 children, may still be in the city. Residents remain without sufficient food, drinking water, medicines and other necessary aid. Russian military are reported to be preventing civilians from leaving. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine stated that no food deliveries reached the occupied city from 26 May until at least 24 June. Oleshky's critical infrastructure has been effectively destroyed, with no electricity or gas supply, and civilians face constant threat of shelling and drone attacks given the city's location near the front line.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Both Ukrainian sources — a media outlet and a state agency — center the Council of Churches' appeal to the Pope and to international religious and humanitarian bodies. They emphasize Russia's role in blocking evacuation and in creating the humanitarian crisis, citing Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. They place the current crisis in the context of infrastructure destroyed by the occupation and the legacy of the 2023 Kakhovka dam breach, and describe Oleshky as a ghost-like city.

Where reporting differs

Article 27520 frames the appeal primarily as a request to the Pope to save Oleshky from starvation, while article 27575 frames it more widely — as a request for the Pope to use all available opportunities and emphasizing the council's parallel appeal to the UN and the ICRC for a humanitarian mission and evacuation.

Background

Oleshky lies near the front line in Kherson Oblast and has been under Russian occupation. In 2023, the city suffered large-scale flooding after Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam. Its critical infrastructure, including electricity and gas supply, has been effectively destroyed. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has separately documented the absence of food deliveries to the city from late May until at least late June.