Ukrainian military delivers 4 tonnes of food by drone to occupied Oleshky in one of largest such operations
The Ukrainian military has delivered approximately 4,000 kg (4 tonnes) of food by drone across the Dnipro to 100 locations in Russian-occupied Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, in one of the largest operations of an ongoing campaign that began in March 2026. Head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration Oleksandr Prokudin announced the delivery on September 27, 2026, and said Russian forces are shooting down the drones, seizing or reselling the food, and detaining residents who receive aid parcels.
Key points
- The Ukrainian military delivered about 4,000 kg of food by drone to 100 locations in occupied Oleshky, Kherson Oblast.
- Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration Oleksandr Prokudin announced the operation on September 27, 2026.
- It was one of the largest in a systematic drone-based humanitarian delivery campaign that began in March 2026.
- The operation involved the 30th Marine Corps, tactical group 'Hrim,' the 34th Separate Marine Infantry Brigade 'Borysfen,' the 'Bolharychi' unit of the 11th National Guard Brigade, the 34th National Guard Regiment, and the 79th Border Detachment.
- According to Prokudin, Russian forces are shooting down delivery drones, seizing or reselling the food, and detaining, beating and imprisoning residents who receive the parcels.
- Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha raised the situation in Oleshky at the UN Security Council on September 23, calling for humanitarian corridors.
- Civilian population estimates for Oleshky conflict: the Kherson OVA cites about 2,000 people including nearly 50 children, while the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches puts the number at more than 6,000 including about 200 children.
Why it matters
The operation documents a novel drone-based humanitarian delivery into an occupied town that Ukrainian officials say is under blockade and on the brink of humanitarian catastrophe. It illustrates the scale of suffering alleged by Ukrainian authorities — shortages of food, water, electricity and medicine, with civilians reportedly unable to leave — and has now been escalated to the UN Security Council, putting international pressure on Russia to permit humanitarian corridors and evacuation.
What happened
On September 27, 2026, head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration Oleksandr Prokudin announced that the Ukrainian military had delivered approximately 4,000 kg (4 tonnes) of food products by drone across the Dnipro to 100 designated locations in Russian-occupied Oleshky. The operation involved the 30th Marine Corps, tactical group 'Hrim,' the 34th Separate Marine Infantry Brigade 'Borysfen,' the 'Bolharychi' unit of the 11th National Guard Brigade, the 34th National Guard Regiment, and the 79th Border Detachment, and was described as one of the largest in an ongoing systematic drone-delivery campaign that began in March 2026. Items delivered included bread, flour and yeast, canned goods, cookies, crispbreads, butter, groats and pâté, the most popular item among recipients. Different drone types were used, most carrying 10–20 kg and some up to 50 kg. According to Prokudin, Russian forces are shooting down the delivery drones, seizing or reselling provisions meant for children and elderly people, and detaining residents who receive the aid parcels — throwing them into basements and beating them. Civilians in Oleshky are reported to be without stable access to food, electricity, gas, water and medicine, and unable to leave the city. The last conventional food deliveries to the occupied territory were at the end of May 2026. The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations has appealed to Pope Leo XIV, the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to help evacuate residents, and on September 23 Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha raised the situation at the UN Security Council, calling for humanitarian corridors.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian sources center the Kherson Oblast Military Administration as the authoritative voice on the operation and the humanitarian situation. They emphasize Russian obstruction — shooting down delivery drones, seizing or reselling food, and detaining, beating and imprisoning residents who receive aid — and frame the situation as a deliberate, engineered humanitarian catastrophe, with Foreign Minister Sybiha drawing an explicit parallel to the Holodomor of 1932–1933. Ukrainian coverage highlights appeals by officials to the UN Security Council, Pope Leo XIV, the UN and the ICRC for humanitarian corridors and evacuation, and describes Russia's refusal to confirm readiness for an evacuation mission as the principal obstacle to getting civilians out.
How international sources describe it
International outlets such as Le Monde lead with the broader humanitarian picture in Oleshky — a town under blockade with mined outskirts, non-functioning transport and banking, and civilians facing food, water, electricity and medicine shortages — and report the population and food-shortage details in more neutral, descriptive terms. They note Ukraine's diplomatic escalation at the UN and its calls for humanitarian corridors, but tend to avoid the Holodomor framing used by Ukrainian officials.
Where reporting differs
Sources disagree on the size of the remaining civilian population in and around Oleshky: the Kherson OVA cites about 2,000 people including nearly 50 children, while the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and other reporting put the number at more than 6,000 including about 200 children. The date of the last conventional food delivery into the occupied territory before the drone campaign is given variously as 'end of May 2026' and 'May 26,' with Bild reporting that residents survived the summer on garden vegetables and Deutsche Welle saying no food had been brought in for four months. One fact statement in the material lists the amount delivered as 'approximately 4,000 tons,' while every other source in the set states 4,000 kg (4 tonnes).
Background
Oleshky lies on the left bank of the Dnipro, which now forms the boundary between Ukrainian-controlled and Russian-occupied parts of Kherson Oblast. The city was occupied by Russia in the first days of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Systematic drone food deliveries to Oleshky across the Dnipro, coordinated since March 2026 by the 11th National Guard Brigade and the 34th Separate Marine Infantry Brigade 'Borysfen,' have become the principal means of getting food to civilians who cannot leave. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has compared the situation to the Holodomor of 1932–1933, saying hunger was Moscow's weapon then and remains its weapon today.