Residents of occupied Olešky struggle for food amid dangerous routes
In the Russian-occupied village of Olešky, locals face severe food shortages and must navigate a mine-strewn road that has already claimed lives.
A woman from Olešky recounted a recent trip to Radensk, about 20 km away, where she stepped on a mine on her return and was injured. Just days earlier, three people were killed on the same path, which locals describe as a "death road." A 72-year-old man survives by growing vegetables and baking flatbreads over an open fire, using flour hidden before the invasion, and feeds his pets with grass mixed with grain remnants.
Why it matters
The story shows how war-time occupation forces civilians into extreme hunger and life-threatening travel.
In this story
food shortagelandmineoccupied Ukrainehumanitarian crisisdangerous routessurvivalvillagecivilian hardship
