Exhausted and emaciated Ukrainian civilians fleeing the Russian-occupied southern town of Oleshky have crossed into government-controlled territory, following months of acute deprivation, humanitarian isolation and perilous subterranean journeys.
The arrival of the evacuees marks the end of an excruciating ordeal for dozens of families who endured the catastrophic flooding of the Dnipro River basin following the Kakhovka dam collapse last year, followed by relentless bombardment and strict Russian martial rule. Al Jazeera reported that those reaching safety arrived visibly malnourished, carrying little more than small bags containing identity papers and a few treasured possessions.
Months of deprivation beneath Russian occupation
Located directly across the river from liberated Kherson city, Oleshky has endured some of the most punishing conditions of the conflict. Following the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in June 2023, large swathes of the low-lying settlement were submerged. Moscow-installed administrators were widely accused of withholding rescue operations from residents who refused Russian passports.
According to accounts gathered by Al Jazeera, basic foodstuffs, reliable electricity, and essential medicines had all but vanished from the town in recent months. Cut off from international aid agencies, vulnerable residents—many of them elderly—were forced to survive on dwindling pantry stores and contaminated well water, while hiding in basements to avoid persistent drone strikes and artillery duels across the river.
Treacherous corridors through third-country routes
Escaping the occupied settlement required navigating a labyrinth of danger. With the front-line river crossing fiercely contested and subject to constant surveillance, direct evacuation across the Dnipro was largely impossible without risking sniper fire or artillery strikes.
Instead, many civilians were compelled to embark on exhausting, circuitous odysseys spanning thousands of kilometres. Evacuees were forced to travel east through occupied Crimea and southern Russia, before crossing into third countries such as Georgia or the Baltic states to re-enter Ukrainian-held territory. The logistical hurdles were compounded by invasive security screenings at Russian border checkpoints, where phones were scrutinised and interrogations routinely lasted for hours.
Bitter reunions for fragmented families
At reception centres in government-held territory, volunteer networks provided warm food, primary medical evaluations, and emergency psychological support. For many arriving families, the relief of stepping back onto Ukrainian soil was immediately eclipsed by tearful reunions with relatives from whom they had been separated for well over a year.
Yet the joy was severely tempered by grief for those left behind. Aid workers noted that many elderly or bedridden residents in Oleshky were physically incapable of surviving the punishing transit routes, leaving sons, daughters, and grandchildren to make the harrowing choice to flee alone.
A town trapped on the contested frontline
The plight of Oleshky underscores the continuing humanitarian crisis facing hundreds of small communities trapped along the Dnipro frontline. Military analysts note that as Ukrainian forces maintain bridgeheads on the eastern bank, Russian units have increasingly fortified civilian neighbourhoods, severely restricting freedom of movement.
For those who managed to escape, the process of physical rehabilitation and bureaucratic registration will take months. But for the hundreds of civilians who remain marooned on the occupied bank, the onset of another brutal winter looms amid dwindling resources and relentless hostilities.