"..., convoys from the UN, partner organizations, and the Red Cross have already come under fire..."
The UN has responded to the situation in Oleshky—a city where people are eating grass, burying bodies in basements, and waiting for an evacuation that never comes.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, was asked whether the organization could assist in establishing a humanitarian corridor for civilians.
He explained that UN teams are attempting to reach people near the front lines and in the hardest-hit areas, and are working to ensure the safety of humanitarian convoys.
According to Dujarric, convoys from the UN, partner organizations, and the Red Cross have already come under fire. The UN pledged to continue its efforts to help the people holding out in their homes.
Oleshky is an occupied city located 9 km from Kherson. For nearly a year, residents have lived without adequate supplies of food, electricity, gas, or drinking water. The last food delivery took place on May 26; there is also an acute shortage of medicines. All roads and access routes to the city are mined, making the safe evacuation of civilians virtually impossible. Attempts by commercial suppliers to deliver food to the city have been met with shelling.
Ukraine has appealed to the ICRC and international partners regarding the evacuation of civilians, but no agreement on a humanitarian corridor could be reached. Russia, which occupied Oleshky in 2022, has not consented to this.