Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry reports 1,700 people trapped in occupied Oleshky — Interia

In Oleshky, temporarily occupied by Russia, the aggressor state, around 1,700 people remain trapped amid destroyed buildings. As Interia reports, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated this last week.

According to him, the only route out of the city is mined and monitored by strike drones. The river near the city is also mined, Sybiha claims. The minister said that people attempting to leave Oleshky risk being killed, while residents doubt they will be able to survive the winter.

Drone footage

Sky News correspondent Stuart Ramsay and his team were able to get close to the city with Ukrainian servicemen from the 11th Brigade, who are helping the few people escape. The journalists did not enter Oleshky itself, but the military showed them drone recordings.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

According to Ramsay’s description, the footage shows numerous destroyed and damaged multi-storey buildings. The buildings have been blackened by fires and bombed. In some clips, one resident cooks food over a fire in the rain next to a damaged house, while another searches for food on a forest path.

Account from a city resident

In a telephone conversation with Ramsay, an Oleshky resident said that due to food shortages, people eat purslane. He claims that this herb is boiled and eaten by both people and dogs. The journalist’s interlocutor also said that without the city’s liberation before winter, people may die from cold and hunger.

The Oleshky resident stressed that the city needs to be liberated and its inhabitants need attention to their situation.