Ukrainian drones drop food in Oleshky as residents face shortages and evacuation risks

Ukrainian authorities said drones dropped about four tonnes of food at 100 locations in Russian-occupied Oleshky on September 27, as residents faced severe shortages and dangerous routes out. The Guardian reported that it was unclear how much of the food Russian forces intercepted, leaving the amount that reached civilians uncertain.

Kherson regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin described the operation as the largest of its kind so far, according to the Guardian. The Kyiv Independent reported that Ukrainian military and law enforcement units worked on the delivery. Prokudin said food drops by drone had been attempted since March, so the latest operation is part of a continuing effort to supply the town.

Food running short

The Guardian reported that about 2,000 civilians, including 50 children, remained in Oleshky and surrounding villages. Those figures are estimates rather than a current census. In a message reported by the paper, a woman in the town said she could not leave and had nothing to eat. She said her weight had fallen from 110 kilograms before the war to 67 kilograms.

Residents told the Guardian they were eating one meal a day, sometimes soup made with courgette grown in former flower boxes and foraged purslane. In separate reporting, Deutsche Welle spoke to a resident identified by the pseudonym Halyna, who described making flatbread from water and flour. Another resident told DW that his mother had traded sugar for eggs to put in soup. The accounts describe individual households, rather than a measured supply level across the town.

Why supplies and evacuation are difficult

The last successful delivery of food by vehicle was on May 26, the Kyiv Independent reported. It said further vehicle attempts on June 2 and September 1 were disrupted by drone attacks that killed two people and injured others. The Guardian reported that expanding minefields and drone activity had made overland supply increasingly difficult. The September drone drop therefore offered another way to move food into Oleshky, but the reports do not establish how much residents ultimately received.

Halyna told DW that people seeking to leave had to reach Tarasivka, about 20 kilometres away, on a heavily mined route. She said two women trying to obtain food had died along the way. Her account illustrates the danger residents described, but that particular death toll is attributed to her. DW also reported that shortages of cash and identity documents complicated departure for some residents.

Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said 358 people needed urgent evacuation, according to DW. He said preliminary arrangements had involved a ceasefire and assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross, but Russia had not reaffirmed its willingness to proceed. The Kyiv Independent reported on September 26 that Lubinets still had no confirmation that Russia was ready for the proposed mission. Neither account established a completed evacuation agreement.

Competing claims and calls for access

Prokudin accused Russian forces of shooting at aid drones, taking or reselling supplies and detaining residents who received packages, the Kyiv Independent reported. Those are the governor's allegations; the reviewed reporting did not independently establish each incident. Volunteers quoted by the outlet also worried that receiving drone deliveries could expose residents to checks by Russian forces.

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called for immediate evacuation and accused Russia of blocking it, according to the Guardian. The paper also reported that Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledged a critical situation in Oleshky but accused Ukrainian forces of obstructing aid. The competing claims do not resolve responsibility for the failure to establish a safe route.

On September 25, Council of Europe human rights commissioner Michael O'Flaherty called the situation alarming and urged a local ceasefire, humanitarian access and safe evacuation, the Kyiv Independent reported. For residents, the immediate questions are whether the latest food drop can be collected safely and whether an evacuation route can be agreed. The available reports answer neither question.

An earlier account of residents trying to obtain basic supplies in the occupied city gives context for the risks they face. The latest drone operation adds a reported delivery to that story, while the uncertainty over collection and evacuation remains.