---
title: "\"It's a holiday, we are bringing our people back\": Hundreds of Oleshky residents evacuated from occupation after half a year of hunger"
description: "On October 31, hundreds of residents of occupied Oleshky, who spent six months living in conditions of hunger and blockade, were evacuated to Ukrainian-controlled territory. Not everyone chose to stay in the town."
date: 2026-10-31T19:04:23.581Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/evacuation-of-oleshky-residents-from-occupation
tags: [ukraine, kherson, oleshky, humanitarian-crisis, evacuation, occupied-territories, rbc-ukraine]
author: "Alexander Buran"
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# "It's a holiday, we are bringing our people back": Hundreds of Oleshky residents evacuated from occupation after half a year of hunger

![Evacuated Oleshky residents wrapped in Ukrainian flags smile after being freed from occupation](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/31/evakuaciya-zhiteley-oleshek-iz-okkupacii-posle-polugoda-goloda/evakuaciya-zhiteley-oleshek-iz-okkupacii-posle-polugoda-goloda-1.webp)

## Key Points

- On October 31, 2026, hundreds of Oleshky residents were evacuated to Ukrainian-controlled territory after half a year of humanitarian catastrophe
- Since early 2026, the Russian military mined roads and blocked food supplies; the last targeted food delivery took place on May 26
- By autumn 2026, residents were losing 10–15 kg of weight, and famine had effectively begun in the town; out of 25,000 pre-war residents, about 6,000 remained
- On September 27 and October 4, the Defense Forces delivered a total of about 8 tons of humanitarian aid across the Dnipro
- Evacuation negotiations began in the spring of 2026; some Oleshky residents decided to stay in the town

On October 31, 2026, residents of Oleshky — a town on the left bank of the Kherson region that had been under Russian occupation — were evacuated to Ukrainian-controlled territory. According to RBC-Ukraine, hundreds of people who had lived in conditions of a humanitarian catastrophe for almost six months were ferried to the government-controlled side of the Dnipro River. At the same time, some residents of the occupied town chose to stay. The humanitarian mission, which culminated in the evacuation, was the result of months of negotiations that began in the spring of 2026 when Oleshky was already on the verge of survival.

### How the humanitarian catastrophe escalated

The situation in Oleshky began to deteriorate rapidly in early 2026. Russian military forces mined the roads leading to the settlement and systematically launched drone strikes on supply routes. By late January, local residents began reporting that store shelves were emptying and food supplies had to be stretched indefinitely. On February 25, Tetiana Hasanenko, head of the Oleshky Military Administration, told journalists that food supplies had practically ceased: "Over this entire period, from mid-January to today, I am aware of only one food delivery to Oleshky." The last targeted food delivery to the town took place on May 26, 2026 — from that moment on, residents tried to survive on their own supplies.

### Hunger, weight loss, and the inability to bury the dead

Famine effectively began in Oleshky in the spring. People were taken to hospitals suffering from weakness due to malnutrition. Residents hoped for the summer and their own vegetable gardens, but an additional threat was posed by the Russian military hunting local residents with drones. By autumn, the aggravation reached its peak: "When autumn came, practically all food ran out, people began to lose weight very quickly because they had been on the verge of starvation for the past six months. I receive messages: I lost 10 kg, I lost 15 kg. People are losing weight very rapidly, which is catastrophically dangerous for their health," Hasanenko told RBC-Ukraine in a comment. Before the full-scale invasion, about 25,000 people lived in Oleshky; by the time the humanitarian catastrophe began, approximately 6,000 residents remained in the town, including children. The morgue was bombed long before winter, and bodies were brought to the hospital, where there were no conditions for storing them due to a lack of electricity. "In Oleshky, you can't just not live decently; you can't die decently either. Because there is no one to bury them, bodies are lying right in the middle of the street," the CMA head described.

### Military operations to deliver food

While residents tried to survive on their own provisions, the Ukrainian Defense Forces were developing ways to deliver food. The military dropped food from drones, but Russian troops often shot down the drones and blew up vehicles carrying food that tried to enter the town via bypass routes. Local residents approached the destroyed vehicles and took semi-burned food, risking stepping on mines. On September 27, the Kherson Regional State Administration reported that the Defense Forces had ferried about four tons of food across the Dnipro, delivering it to 100 designated points in Oleshky. The operation involved marines, National Guard units, border guards, and other military formations. On October 4, National Guardsmen delivered almost four more tons of humanitarian aid — about 400 food packages, medicines, and children's kits. The operation involved the 11th Hrushevsky National Guard Brigade, the 34th Kherson National Guard Regiment, marines, and border guards. Both operations allowed people to "breathe a sigh of relief," but as the military noted, targeted deliveries could not systematically resolve the humanitarian catastrophe.

### Attempts at independent escape and evacuation negotiations

Due to the critical situation, residents repeatedly tried to leave Oleshky on their own. Over the course of six months, dozens of people left the town on foot — they walked toward Radensk and other settlements where there was still food. "The Russian army is maximally blocking the exit from this territory. Unfortunately, those we interviewed told us that citizens who tried to break out simply died, blowing themselves up on Russian mines. Car routes have been mined for a long time, but even pedestrian routes were also mined by the Russian army," Dmytro Lubinets said in a comment to RBC-Ukraine. Negotiations on evacuating residents of occupied Oleshky began back in the spring of 2026, when the town was already on the edge. The result of these negotiations was the evacuation on October 31, which participants described as a holiday: "This is a holiday, we are bringing our people back."

## Fact-Check & Sources

- ["Это праздник, мы возвращаем наших". Как жители Олешек вырвались из оккупации и голода](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/tse-svyato-mi-povertaemo-nashih-k-zhiteli-1793472071.html) - Primary source. RBC-Ukraine report featuring quotes from Oleshky CMA head Tetiana Hasanenko and Dmytro Lubinets. Chronology of events (January–October 2026), supply figures, population data — all facts are taken from this material.

## FAQ

### How many Oleshky residents were evacuated on October 31, 2026?

According to RBC-Ukraine, hundreds of residents were evacuated to Ukrainian-controlled territory. The exact figure is not specified in the material. Some residents of the occupied town chose to stay.

### When did the humanitarian catastrophe in Oleshky begin?

The situation began to deteriorate rapidly in early 2026: the Russian military mined roads and attacked supply routes with drones. By late January, store shelves were emptying, and on February 25, the head of the CMA announced the virtual cessation of food supplies.

### How did the Ukrainian military deliver food to Oleshky?

Defense forces dropped food from drones and, on September 27 and October 4, ferried a total of about 8 tons of humanitarian aid across the Dnipro. Marines, the National Guard, and border guards participated in the operations. The Russian military shot down drones and blew up vehicles carrying food.

### How many residents remained in Oleshky by the time of the catastrophe?

Before the full-scale invasion, about 25,000 people lived in the town. By the time the humanitarian catastrophe began, approximately 6,000 residents remained in Oleshky, including children.