Ukrainian Troops Deliver 4+ Tons Of Humanitarian Aid To Residents Trapped In Oleshky

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, deputy head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, said this in an interview with Ukrainian Radio, Ukrinform reports.

“Since then, Ukrainian troops have carried out another operation, delivering the largest amount of food so far - nearly two tons. The total amount delivered to residents now exceeds four tons. The supplies include essential medicines and food,” Tolokonnikov said, answering a question about whether Ukraine's Defense Forces had conducted further drone delivery operations to bring food and medicine to Oleshky after October 4.

There have been reports of people losing as much as 50 kilograms because they lack protein-rich food. Tolokonnikov said.

He then said,“Most people are living on plant-based food - what they have grown in their gardens or managed to barter for. Some have successfully traveled to a neighboring settlement to get food. But there is another problem: they cannot even buy anything because they have run out of money. Nor can they withdraw cash. Those who remain - people with limited mobility and pensioners who cannot leave - have no money. So they can rely only on us or on what they can grow themselves.

The Russian occupiers keep claiming that they have tried to bring in supplies but have allegedly been prevented from doing so by drones, which they suggest are Ukrainian. Yet no one seems to stop them from bringing in weapons: they continue to bring in drones and weapons, but somehow they cannot deliver food because something always gets in their way. These are the kinds of stories the Russian occupiers keep telling,” the regional official added.

He said Ukrainian forces would continue trying to deliver aid in the near future.

“Of course, this is dangerous, first and foremost for our drone operators, because the Russians are actively hunting them, and there have been instances of attacks on them. Nevertheless, in most cases, thank God, the supplies do reach the people in Oleshky,” Tolokonnikov said.

He explained that Russian forces have been keeping Oleshky under an almost complete blockade because the city offered them the best and easiest position from which to shell Kherson city while using residential buildings as cover.

“And to prevent Ukraine's Defense Forces from striking those residential areas, there have to be people there - our people, whom we will not attack,” the deputy head of the regional administration said.

He confirmed that some residents had attempted to leave Oleshky.

“Yes, of course, there have been attempts. But it is important to remember that crossing minefields and traveling along roads where the bodies of people who tried to escape but never made it lie is an enormous ordeal, even for a healthy person. Given that most of those who remain are elderly or have limited mobility, walking 20 kilometers to Radensk is an enormous challenge,” Tolokonnikov said.

He added that reports were circulating that another 13 people had supposedly left Oleshky or been evacuated from Radensk and were now on their way to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

“We will see in the coming days when they arrive and what they have to say. But the situation is such that, sooner or later, some people will inevitably remain there. That works to Russia's advantage, because we will not shell civilians, even if only 100 people remain. The Russians may claim they are not holding anyone there, but they mine the surrounding area, and elderly people cannot leave on foot. So they stay and wait for help,” he stressed.

Read also: Pope Leo XIV discusses humanitarian situation in Oleshky with Zelensky

The regional official emphasized that approximately 30 children remain trapped in the city.

“Earlier, we reported that 2,000 people remained there, among them about 50 minors. That number has now fallen to approximately 30. However, it is very difficult to make any official statements because we rely solely on information from trusted sources inside the occupied territory,” he said.

As Ukrinform previously reported, on October 4, servicemen of the 11th Mykhailo Hrushevskyi Brigade and the 34th Kherson Regiment of Ukraine's National Guardcarried out a second successful operation to deliver nearly four tons of humanitarian aid to the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region.

According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, no food supplies had reached Oleshky since May 26.

Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, previously said that Russian forces were holding around 2,000 people hostage in Oleshky, including nearly 50 children. They are struggling to survive without food, electricity, or water.

Photo: Dmytro Lubinets / Telegram

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