People trapped without water, food, or medicine: the MFA sounds the alarm over the humanitarian situation in occupied Kherson region

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported a sharp deterioration of the humanitarian situation in certain areas of the temporarily occupied Kherson Oblast. This concerns the consequences of actions by Russian occupiers who, according to the Ukrainian side, are grossly violating international humanitarian law.

The MFA of Ukraine announced this on May 6, 2026 on its official Facebook page. Particular concern is raised by the situation in Oleshky, Hola Prystan, as well as in Stara Zbur’ivka and Nova Zbur’ivka of Kherson Oblast.

In these settlements, according to the ministry, there are effectively no adequate conditions to meet the basic needs of local residents, including children. Russian occupiers are artificially restricting people’s ability to leave and are creating obstacles to the delivery of essential goods, food, and medicines.

The scale of depopulation of these territories has become another alarming signal. The total population has fallen from 40,000 to approximately 6,000 people. In Oleshky, where about 24,000 people previously lived, approximately 2,000 remain.

Critical infrastructure in these territories is effectively destroyed. Electricity and gas supplies are absent, and the settlements themselves, according to the Ukrainian side, are on the verge of survival. Russian drone attacks pose a separate danger. Civilians who try to buy food or leave the city by their own transport become targets for the occupiers. Overall, humanitarian assistance may be required by more than 6,000 people, including about 200 children. Most of those who remain in these territories are people with limited mobility.

More than 220 direct appeals regarding the evacuation of residents from the specified settlements have already been received by various state bodies of Ukraine. The critical condition is also confirmed by the Office of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Ukrainian intelligence agencies, and a number of international organizations.

The MFA of Ukraine also reports horrific testimonies from people who have lost relatives as a result of Russian attacks but cannot properly bury them due to ongoing hostilities. Local residents have no way to safely leave dangerous areas and are forced to survive in inhumane conditions – often without access to drinking water, food, and necessary medicines.

In cooperation with the Coordination Headquarters for Evacuation Measures and Effective Response to Mass Population Displacement, the MFA has initiated urgent consultations with international partners – the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross. These efforts aim to find ways to rescue Ukrainian citizens who have found themselves in a critical situation due to the actions of the Russian occupiers.

The Ukrainian side is working to engage international organizations and calls on partners to increase pressure on Russia to compel it to comply with international humanitarian law, create conditions for assistance to civilians, and open evacuation corridors. In addition, Ukraine will raise the issue of the critical humanitarian situation in Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Stara Zbur’ivka and Nova Zbur’ivka at the UN and OSCE fora. Information about Russian crimes will be passed to international monitoring missions.

The MFA of Ukraine emphasizes that the lives of citizens located in temporarily occupied territories remain the state’s top priority.

“There is nothing more important to Ukraine than human lives. We call on the international community for concrete and urgent action to save our citizens in temporarily occupied Kherson Oblast.”

Previously we wrote:

• Oleshky – the ghost town of Russian occupation: water shortages and deadly roads
• Occupied Oleshky on the brink: water shortage, drivers are dying; Lubinets demands a corridor from Russia and action by the ICRC
• Russia launched 4,416 drones over the right bank of Kherson Oblast in a week; the Armed Forces of Ukraine neutralized 95%
• Island of fear: Russian troops flee positions near Oleshky, – Ukrainian Defense Forces
• The enemy is launching an offensive in Kherson Oblast: thousands of drones, hundreds of shellings, and plans to seize the banks of the Dnipro