Exhausted Ukrainian civilians escaping the Russian-held front-line city of Oleshky have described enduring years in a living hell, navigating lethal minefields and incessant drone surveillance in a desperate search for food.
The harrowing testimonies, gathered following perilous evacuations to government-controlled territory, reveal the grim realities confronting those trapped in the occupied sector of the southern Kherson region. BBC World reported that survivors, including an elderly couple who braved explosive-strewn terrain merely to forage for sustenance, depicted a community stripped of basic human dignities and essential public services.
Perilous flight across the southern marshes
For the dwindling number of civilians remaining in Oleshky—situated directly across the Dnipro River from liberated Kherson—survival has become an increasingly precarious gamble. Evacuees recounted crossing heavily mined scrubland and ruined riverbanks where Russian forces routinely treat any civilian movement as hostile reconnaissance.
The path to relative safety required evading roving observation drones and navigating artillery kill zones. Escapees explained that the acute threat of starvation eventually outweighed the terror of landmines. Without functional vehicles or local transit, residents were forced to make treacherous journeys on foot through contested wasteland.
Life under the shadow of famine and drones
Conditions inside the settlement have degraded sharply since Moscow’s forces entrenched themselves on the Dnipro's left bank. According to accounts detailed by the BBC, civilian commerce has collapsed, leaving those unable to flee reliant on rapidly dwindling stockpiles, backyard plots, and hazardous foraging.
Locals reported that modern battlefield technology has compounded the psychological torment. Unmanned aerial vehicles hover constantly above the town's deserted streets, monitoring civilian movement and directing mortar strikes. The perpetual threat has driven the remaining, largely elderly population into damp basements devoid of electricity, running water, or reliable heating.
Devastation compounded by disaster
The plight of Oleshky’s residents was dramatically exacerbated in mid-2023 by the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam upstream. The catastrophic breach submerged vast swathes of the low-lying town, washing away civilian infrastructure, unearthing buried ordnance, and contaminating fresh water supplies.
While Russian occupation authorities downplayed the flooding at the time, survivors noted that state assistance was virtually non-existent, leaving informal networks and neighbours to mount rescues under artillery fire. The stagnant aftermath accelerated the decay of surviving homes, creating squalid conditions that persisted long after the floodwaters receded.
Systematic isolation along the Dnipro
Military analysts note that Russian forces have turned front-line settlements like Oleshky into fortified buffer zones, deliberately restricting movement and communications to deter Ukrainian reconnaissance while effectively using the remaining populace as human shields.
For the few who successfully navigate the frontline and reach Ukrainian reception centres, the psychological toll of extended occupation remains acute. As humanitarian volunteers tend to malnourished and traumatised escapees, those who survived the crossing maintain that reaching safety was nothing short of returning from the dead.
