Locals flee occupied south Ukraine as hunger deepens

From the article:

Oleshky is located close to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, which since Ukraine's liberation of the city of Kherson in the fall of 2022 has formed the frontline between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the southern theater.

Recent weeks have seen voices from the city and its surrounding rural communities emerge anew as Ukrainian officials and humanitarian organizations seek to bring attention to the deteriorating situation on the Dnipro's left bank, in view of the Ukrainian forces holding their positions only a few miles away along the right bank.

Tetiana Hasanenko, a Ukrainian official serving from the western side of the Dnipro as the head of the Oleshky Military Administration, told ABC News that the area's prewar population of around 40,000 people has fallen to as low as 6,000, with only around 2,000 in Oleshky city.

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Messages sent by residents in Oleshky and shared with ABC News tell of careful rationing of remaining food supplies, a chronic shortage of medication and having to move from one abandoned house to the next to escape drone attacks and marauding Russian troops.

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Prices for basic goods were sky-high, and few people even had money to buy things with, she said. But they survived the summer.

On Sept. 1, though, a food-supply convoy heading to the city was attacked. Russian officials blamed the Ukrainian armed forces for the attack, while Kyiv blamed Moscow's troops.

"They were blown up. And then they were shot," Arkhipova said of the incident. "Then the drones flew in and attacked so that the drivers remained alive, just hit the motors so that the oil leaked out. Drivers then walked back by foot for 100 kilometers."

After that, she said, more locals began to leave the only way they could -- on foot. "Because there is simply nothing to eat. While there was something to eat, people just stayed in their homes," Arkhipova said.

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To escape, residents must first reach the village of Radensk, some 14 miles east of Oleshky deeper into Russian-held territory, Arkhipova said. Hasanenko described the route as the "road of death," citing the mines and drones that cover the entire area.

In Radensk, those fleeing may be able to get food and a night's accommodation. The roads in that area are still mined and dangerous, Arkhipova added, but those fleeing may be able to catch a lift in a local's car or tractor to get further into occupied Kherson and closer to the Black Sea coast, from where they may be able to arrange -- usually at high cost -- a circuitous route to Ukrainian-held territory, often through Belarus.

Some are even helped by Russian volunteers, Arkhipova said, who buy them train tickets and accompany them on their route.

It can cost as much as $500 per person to flee, the money going toward the costs of food, accommodation and payment for whatever driver is willing to take them, Arkhipova said, adding that she has so far helped 47 people out.

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While fierce combat has been ongoing along the banks of the Dnipro for years, Arkhipova said there is little organization behind the Russian lines.

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"There's no leadership there," she said. "There are only [Russian] soldiers who openly say they don't care, 'We came here to earn money.'"

Russian forces reach the area through village roads, ever wary of Ukrainian drones and artillery. They bring in ammunition and weapons, using them to attack the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson on the right bank of the river, according to Ukrainian military officials.

"They don't let people go on these village roads that are not mined," Arkhipova said, for fear of residents seeing "where the trenches are, where the ammunition, cannons, self-propelled artillery mounts and everything else are." Anyone suspected of being in contact with Ukrainian authorities or armed forces faces immediate execution, Ukrainian officials say.

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All of occupied Kherson remains an active war zone. For the Ukrainian military, responsibility for the Oleshky area falls to the 30th Marine Corps.

Its spokesperson, Pavlo Drogal, told ABC News that the unit's drones carefully track developments on the left bank. "There is a huge deficit of drinking water, electricity, food products," he said. "We observe this picture every day ... The situation from the drone looks really depressing."