"There's nothing left": in Olechky, a Ukrainian town occupied by the Russians, residents are facing starvation.
Witnesses contacted by franceinfo describe a ghost town – with no food and no electricity. With supplies running out, Ukrainian forces have been dropping food supplies by drone.
The WhatsApp message finally went through. Twenty-two lines describing the desperate daily life of a woman living in Olechky, in southern Ukraine. "We only eat once a day," writes the woman, whose first name, surname and age must remain confidential for security reasons. Her town, situated on the other side of the Dnieper, opposite Kherson, has been occupied by the Russians for nearly five years. Olechky is cut off from the world. "Since the start of the year, we haven't received a single food delivery. Our loved ones have lost weight, some are starting to fall ill – there's nothing left": no more medicines, no more electricity, no more gas... The "winter supplies" have already been used up, so "I'm eating purslane", an edible herb that grows in the ground.
(APOLLONIA HILVERDA/FRANCEINFO)
On 15 September, this woman says she took her bike and cycled 25 kilometres through dangerous territory to reach the village of Radensk and try to find something to eat. "Some people go there on foot, but not everyone can make the journey – it's very difficult," she explains. "Two people have died. They were killed by drones because they were returning home at midnight, and it's forbidden to be out on the streets at that time."
Before the war, Olechky's population was close to 25,000; today, there are 1,500, perhaps 2,000, still living there, with the front line right on their doorstep. "We couldn't leave because we have to look after our bedridden parents," says our witness.
"Russia is deliberately making life impossible"
Halyna, aged 84, managed to flee this "hell on earth". She is now in a safe place, a few kilometres from Olechky. On Monday, the elderly lady appeared on a video call, wearing a pink fleece, but sadness was written all over her face. "After all the horrors I've been through..." She weeps. "My son-in-law was captured by the Russians." In early September, she managed to exchange a few words on the phone with her former neighbours, who were still "trapped" in Olechky: "They were fine; they were alive."
The humanitarian situation facing the residents of Olechky is such that the Ukrainian Foreign Minister devoted a large part of his address on Wednesday 23 September at the United Nations General Assembly in New York to it. "Food, medicines, electricity, gas: they have been cut off from everything. As winter approaches, Russia is deliberately making life unbearable. It is condemning these people to starvation." Andriy Sybiha spoke of a resident named Alya, who "is surviving only on tea with honey" because "the last food delivery to her town was at the start of the summer".
The Foreign Secretary also reminded his audience of the Holodomor, the great famine organised by the Soviet authorities to quell nationalist sentiment in the agricultural regions of the USSR, which claimed between two and five million lives nearly a century ago.
"Famine was Moscow's weapon back then. It still is today," said Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine's Minister for Foreign Affairs, addressing the United Nations.
On Friday, a banner reading "Save Olechky" was unfurled by supporters in the stands at the Puskas Arena in Budapest during the Nations League match between Ukraine and Hungary.
"War crimes for which there is no statute of limitations"
This weekend, the military authorities in Kherson launched drones to drop food supplies over Olechky. "We have delivered around 4,000 kg of food to 100 designated distribution points across the city," said Oleksandr Prokudin, the military governor of Kherson, on Facebook.
However, he accuses Russia of having "disrupted this aid" by shooting down the drones. "The deliberate blocking of humanitarian aid and the famine afflicting the civilian population constitute war crimes for which there is no statute of limitations. Anyone involved in these acts will bear irrevocable responsibility," he added.
On 21 September, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledged that the situation in Olechky was "truly critical". However, he accused Kyiv of doing "everything in its power to hinder deliveries". On X, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights called for "an immediate local ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access and the safe evacuation of civilians". "The hardships and suffering of those trapped along the front lines of the war and in the occupied territories require international attention and action," said Michael O'Flaherty.
According to our sources, further food airdrops could take place shortly. "I hope the Ukrainians won't let us starve to death," concludes the message from the resident whom franceinfo was able to contact.
An article written by Raphaël Godet (France Télévisions), initially published on 30 September 2026, 05:56 (CEST)
