Council of Europe rights chief calls for ceasefire, evacuation in occupied Oleshky
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty has called for an immediate local ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access, and the evacuation of civilians from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in Kherson region, where residents face severe hunger, lack of medicine, water, and electricity. No food deliveries have reached the town since late May, and the only road in is mined and monitored by drones. O'Flaherty cited the Fourth Geneva Convention in holding Russia, as the occupying power, responsible for providing for the population.
Key points
- Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty on 25 September called for an immediate local ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access, and civilian evacuation in Oleshky.
- O'Flaherty said Russia, as the occupying power, is obligated under the Fourth Geneva Convention to provide the population with food and medical supplies.
- No food or medicine has been delivered to Oleshky since 26 May; Russian forces have shot at or turned back aid vehicles.
- The only road into Oleshky is mined, monitored by Russian drones, and described as a "road of death."
- About 2,000 of the city's pre-invasion population of roughly 24,000 remain, mostly elderly people and their caregivers, including 47 children.
- Earlier appeals included a 16 September Bild report on the blockade, a 20 September appeal by the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches to Pope Leo XIV, the UN, and the ICRC, and a 23 September UN Security Council address by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha.
- Cases have been recorded of families eating dogs due to lack of food, and of Russian soldiers in civilian clothes robbing residents of their remaining supplies.
Why it matters
A senior international human rights official has publicly framed the situation in Oleshky as a humanitarian crisis requiring immediate international action, and has formally identified Russia as the occupying power bearing responsibility for the population under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Civilians, including children and elderly people, are reported to be starving with no food, medicine, water, electricity, or means of evacuation, and aid delivery is being blocked by Russian forces. Without a ceasefire or humanitarian corridor, conditions are expected to worsen further as winter approaches.
What happened
On 25 September, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty called for an immediate local ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access, and the safe evacuation of civilians from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in Kherson region. O'Flaherty said the humanitarian situation in the town had deteriorated rapidly, with civilians — including children — trapped without sufficient food, medicine, medical care, water, or electricity. He held Russia, as the occupying power, responsible under international humanitarian law for providing food and medical supplies and for facilitating humanitarian aid.
No food or medicine has reached Oleshky since the last official delivery on 26 May; since then, Russian forces have shot at aid vehicles with drones or turned them back at checkpoints. The only road into the town is mined and monitored by Russian drones, and is described as a "road of death" with corpses along the roadside and burned-out vehicles. Of the roughly 24,000 people who lived in the city before the invasion, only about 2,000 remain, mostly elderly residents and their caregivers, including 47 children. Reports describe families forced to eat dogs because of the food shortage, and Russian soldiers disguised as locals robbing residents of their remaining supplies.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian sources centre their coverage on Russia's responsibility as the occupying power, detailing specific human-cost elements such as residents forced to eat dogs, robberies by Russian soldiers disguised as locals, and the impossibility of evacuation. Ukrainian outlets also highlight institutional responses, including statements by Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha's address to the UN Security Council on 23 September, and the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations' 20 September appeal to Pope Leo XIV, the UN, and the ICRC. Ukrainian coverage frames the crisis within a wider Russian propaganda effort that blames the Ukrainian armed forces for the blocked aid deliveries.
How international sources describe it
International framing of the story is anchored by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, who frames the crisis in terms of international humanitarian law and cites the obligations of an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention. German newspaper Bild reported on the humanitarian blockade on 16 September, and broader appeals have been directed to the Pope, the UN, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, positioning Oleshky as a humanitarian issue requiring coordinated international action. International coverage focuses on the calls for a local ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access, and civilian evacuation rather than on internal Ukrainian institutional responses.
Where reporting differs
Estimates of how many civilians remain in Oleshky diverge significantly. Tetiana Hasanenko, head of the Oleshky military administration, says about 2,000 people remain in the city itself (with 47 children reported earlier). Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets says more than 6,000 people, including about 200 children, may remain in the city and surrounding villages. The Council of Europe Commissioner estimates that between 2,000 and 4,000 people remain in the town.
Background
Oleshky has been under Russian occupation since the first days of the full-scale invasion in February 2022 and lies on the left bank of the Dnipro River, about 4 km from Kherson city. The destruction of the Kakhovka dam on 6 June 2023 cut off the town's centralized water, electricity, and gas supplies. Before the invasion, the city had about 24,000 residents and the wider Oleshky community around 40,000 people across 13 settlements, five of which have been completely destroyed and three damaged by about 80%.
The last official food delivery to Oleshky was on 26 May, after which Russian forces reportedly shot at or turned back aid vehicles. Earlier international attention included a 16 September Bild report on the humanitarian blockade, a 20 September appeal by the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations to Pope Leo XIV, the UN, and the ICRC, and a 23 September UN Security Council address by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha calling for Russia to open humanitarian corridors.