Twelve people reached Ukraine-controlled territory from the Russian-occupied front-line city of Oleshky in September, the local military administration head told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 6.
Oleshky in the occupied part of Kherson Oblast has been under Russian occupation since the early days of the full-scale invasion. Residents face severe shortages of food, water, and electricity, while mined roads, constant drone attacks, and interrogations by Russian troops at checkpoints make it almost impossible to evacuate safely.
In spring 2026, evacuation volunteers still managed to help people from Oleshky leave for other occupied settlements in Kherson Oblast or Ukraine-controlled areas in exhausting multi-day trips through Russia and Belarus. Now, they said, the risk of Russian attacks and mines has made organized evacuation impossible.
In recent weeks, some residents have started walking out of Oleshky to the neighboring village of Radensk alone or in pairs, on roads mined by Russian forces.
Tetiana Hasanenko, exiled head of the Oleshky City Military Administration, said that while over 60 people left the city of Oleshky in September this year, only twelve managed to reach Ukraine-controlled territory.
The others either left for the neighboring settlement of Radensk, approximately 15 kilometers (10 miles) away to find food and return, or stayed in other occupied towns in Kherson Oblast.
“Most (of those who left the city in September) are still in the occupied territory. Some people have no documents, and most of them were forced to return to Oleshky because they have relatives there who cannot get about on their own, or they have children whom they simply cannot lead through a minefield,” Hasanenko said.
A potential evacuation route from the occupied town of Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, Ukraine, through Russia and Belarus to Ukraine. (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent)
While Russian troops occupy Oleshky and the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, the Ukrainian military controls the western bank. Russian troops use towns and villages on the eastern bank to launch attacks across the river, including on the liberated city of Kherson.
Russian forces have placed guns, mortars, and mines in and around residential neighborhoods due to the city’s proximity to Ukrainian-controlled territory, Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, deputy head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, told the Kyiv Independent.
Hasanenko previously told the Kyiv Independent on Sept. 30 that four people were attempting to leave the town when they stepped on a mine and were injured, while a man collecting nuts was killed by another mine. The incidents occurred along routes used by civilians to leave the occupied town.
“These people left Oleshky at 6 a.m. and must have failed to spot something before stepping on a landmine. One woman suffered a back injury and injuries to her limbs. She was taken to the hospital on a bicycle. The others were transported in garden trolleys,” Hasanenko said.
The local hospital, which is operating without basic medical supplies, electricity, or running water, is also struggling to function, Hasanenko said. Four doctors, all elderly former hospital staff, continue to work there, she said.
“But there are absolutely no medical supplies. The only thing they can do is stop the bleeding. There are no medicines,” Hasanenko said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said that around 2,000 people, including nearly 50 children, remained in the occupied town with severely limited access to food, drinking water, electricity, and other basic services.
Russian forces are preventing Ukraine and international humanitarian organizations from accessing the occupied territories to provide aid.
Oleshky lies on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, less than 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the regional center of Kherson.