Call to evacuate 'death trap' town in occupied Kherson

Ukrainian officials have renewed calls to evacuate a town in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine, accusing Russia of causing a humanitarian crisis by making aid deliveries and evacuations virtually impossible.

Oleshky, a Russia-occupied town on the bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson region, lies on a stretch of the front that has barely moved since 2023, with restricted access preventing reporters from independently verifying events on the ground.

Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of effectively blockading the town and its surroundings, and have renewed calls for evacuations ahead of the annual UN General Assembly meeting of world leaders starting tomorrow in New York, where the Ukraine war will be a key topic.

"Russia is deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said yesterday.

"Our task is to mobilise the international pressure needed to establish a humanitarian corridor, deliver food and medicines, and evacuate civilians," he added.