Ukraine urges global help as occupied Kherson region faces severe humanitarian crisis
This is according to an MFA statement, Ukrinform reports.
It notes that the situation is particularly alarming in Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Stara Zburivka, and Nova Zburivkain in the Kherson region where proper conditions to meet the basic needs of local residents, including children, are entirely non-existent. Russian occupiers are artificially blocking people from leaving and are obstructing the supply of essential goods, food, and medicines.
The population of the region has dropped from 40,000 to about 6,000 people; in the town of Oleshky, it plummeted from 24,000 to around 2,000.
Critical infrastructure has effectively been destroyed, there is no electricity or gas supply. The settlements are on the brink of survival. Civilians attempting to buy food or leave the town in private vehicles are targeted by Russian drone attacks.
Over 6,000 people, including approximately 200 children, are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Most of them are people with limited mobility.
To date, more than 220 direct requests for the evacuation of residents from these settlements have been received by various government bodies.
This information is also confirmed by the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Ukrainian intelligence agencies, and a number of international organizations.
There are also harrowing testimonies from people who have lost their loved ones as a result of Russian attacks but are unable to properly bury them due to ongoing hostilities. Local residents are unable to leave dangerous areas and are forced to survive in inhumane conditions, often without access to drinking water, food, or essential medicines, the MFA of Ukraine noted.
The MFA, in coordination with the Coordination Headquarters for Evacuation, has launched urgent consultations with the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to find ways to rescue our citizens who have found themselves in dire conditions due to the actions of Russian occupiers.
The MFA, together with relevant ministries and agencies, is working to engage international organizations. It calls on international partners to exert pressure on Russia to comply with international humanitarian law and to create the necessary conditions and evacuation corridors for people to leave.
The Ukrainian side will also raise the issue of the critical humanitarian situation in Oleshky, Hola Prystan, Stara Zburivka, and Nova Zburivka at UN and OSCE platforms. Information about Russian crimes will be provided to international monitoring missions.
Read also: Lubinets calls for international missions to be granted access to Russian-occupied OleshkyAs reported by Ukrinform, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets called on the international community to ensure access for international missions to the temporarily occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region, to strengthen documentation of crimes, and to create effective mechanisms for responding to the humanitarian catastrophe and inhumane living conditions.
Out of 13 settlements in the Oleshky community, five have been completely destroyed. As for the town of Oleshky, people are dying while trying to bring bread into the town. The Hola Prystan and Oleshky communities have ended up in a humanitarian blockade due to Russian occupation forces.