Trapped Between War and Survival in Ukraine’s Forgotten Frontline City

Ludmilla clutches her phone on the rooftop of a fire-damaged house, describing a city slowly suffocating under the weight of war. Oleshky, a frontline city in southern Ukraine, has been largely cut off from fresh food and medicine supplies for months, trapping its remaining 2,000 residents in what residents call an impossible choice: stay and starve, or risk their lives fleeing along a heavily mined road dubbed “The Road of Death.” Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, the city has been imprisoned by geography and conflict—cut off by a destroyed river crossing to the north and dangerous, impassable roads inland. As Ukrainian forces hold positions just across the Dnipro river near the recaptured city of Kherson, civilians caught between the opposing armies face a deepening humanitarian crisis, with Ukraine’s human rights commissioner warning of catastrophic conditions.

A Town Cut Off From Civilisation

Oleshky’s isolation is both physical and complete. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river, with all bridges to the north destroyed or rendered impassable. To the south and southwest, roads inland are either dangerous or blocked entirely. This geographical predicament has been made substantially worse by the persistent fighting. Russian forces hold the city itself, whilst Ukrainian troops are entrenched on the far riverbank near Kherson, which they recovered in November 2022. Caught between two armies, Oleshky has become a abandoned pocket of territory where normal supply lines have simply ceased to exist.

The effects for civilians have been devastating. For extended periods, food and medical supplies have been extremely scarce, forcing residents to forage through abandoned homes and rely entirely on sporadic deliveries from relief organisations and volunteers. Canned foods and pasta have become the primary diet for those who remain. Even basic goods have soared, making them inaccessible to many. The situation deteriorated considerably when winter arrived, when heavy snowfall covered the extensive minefield surrounding potential escape routes, intensifying the sense of helplessness. The Ukrainian human rights commissioner has officially cautioned of a humanitarian emergency occurring inside the city.

• Dnipro river severs escape paths to the north with destroyed bridges
• Russian occupation controls the city; Ukrainian forces hold opposite riverbank
• Fresh supplies virtually unavailable; residents scavenge abandoned homes for sustenance
• Winter snowfall obscured mines; the situation stays dangerous despite spring melting

The Dangerous Decision: Stay or Escape

For the around 2,000 civilians who remain in Oleshky, the choice to depart is far from straightforward. Staying means suffering deteriorating conditions, severe malnutrition, and the perpetual threat of shelling and drone attacks. Yet departure carries its own harrowing equation. Those who try to depart must cross what locals have grimly named “The Road of Death” – a road so densely mined that each passage becomes a risk to life. Locals recount the mental anguish of this dilemma: remaining in a crumbling city or risking death on the routes out.

Some families have managed to attempt escape despite the challenges. Volodymyr, a man in his fifties, ultimately chose that his family could no longer withstand the emotional and physical burden of existence in a conflict zone. After seeing his neighbour’s remains being retrieved following a shelling attack, and enduring continuous drone monitoring, he made the painful choice to depart. His description of the escape route reveals the horror that awaits those willing to make the attempt: the full length of the road is covered in burnt-out vehicles, some holding the bodies of those who did not make it through the attempt.

Escape Routes Fraught With Danger

The primary escape route runs south-west along the Dnipro river towards Hola Prystan’, but this path is treacherous. Heavy mining operations has made the roads unpredictable and deadly. During winter, when snow blanketed the landscape, locating threat zones became virtually impossible, forcing many to postpone their attempts. Even now, as the snow has disappeared, residents and volunteers remain intensely concerned that the mines remain hidden below ground, waiting to claim unwary travellers.

Despite these alarming conditions, some evacuations have succeeded, typically arranged by aid organisations utilising ambulances and additional vehicles. Those who have completed the journey describe praying during the drive, hoping to avoid the hidden explosives. The charred remains of cars lining the route serve as sobering testament of prior journeys. Yet for some families, the risk of the road has become preferable to the certainty of progressive decline within Oleshky’s isolated confines.

• Road heading south-west towards Hola Prystan’ extensively mined; winter snow masked danger
• Evacuations coordinated by volunteers using ambulances; survivors report constant prayer
• Highway covered with burnt-out vehicles; some evacuations have managed to proceed despite risks

Indicators of Devastation on the Ground

Satellite photos and firsthand reports reveal a grim situation of Oleshky’s decline under months of isolation and conflict. The city, once home to tens of thousands, now shelters roughly 2,000 residents who have chosen to remain despite the dire circumstances. Images acquired by the BBC document busy settings in city squares where older inhabitants wait for new provisions provided by aid organisations—a stark illustration of the humanitarian strain. The photographic record corroborates residents’ accounts of decay and desperation, with abandoned homes providing a grim backdrop to ongoing survival struggles.

The visible damage evident throughout Oleshky illustrates not merely the scars of combat but the cumulative toll of prolonged isolation. Residents have relied on scavenging in vacant buildings for nourishment, whilst essential provisions like preserved foods and pasta have become food essentials. The humanitarian commissioner’s caution about an emerging crisis highlights official concern about the situation declining as freezing temperatures return and supply routes stay uncertain.

Blame and Humanitarian Pleas

Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman has raised serious concerns about the deepening humanitarian crisis occurring in Oleshky, attracting global scrutiny to conditions that officials argue amount to a intentional siege. The city’s isolation—whether through military requirement or tactical consideration—has produced circumstances where tens of thousands of residents face impossible choices: stay within a declining urban area with dwindling supplies, or risk fatal attempts at escape. Both local inhabitants and humanitarian personnel point to the convergence of roadside mines, collapsed bridges, and ongoing warfare as producing a catastrophic situation of entrapment. The commissioner’s intervention indicates heightened concern among Ukrainian authorities about the viability of civilian existence in this forgotten corner of the frontline.

Local volunteers and charitable groups have become lifelines for Oleshky’s what remains of the population, arranging risky supply missions and planned withdrawals despite overwhelming obstacles. Yet their efforts, despite their heroism, cannot resolve the underlying crisis: a city of 2,000 people subsisting on preserved provisions and foraged food whilst amid active warfare. Ludmilla’s description of her scorched rooftop crystallises the anguish—people “trying their best to survive” in a place where survival itself feels increasingly precarious. The social impact extends beyond food scarcity and lack of healthcare to include mental suffering, as residents see devastation and loss on a scale that tests our capacity to endure.

Worldwide Response and Accountability

The difficult situation of Oleshky residents poses pressing questions about worldwide humanitarian duties and the obligation of warring parties to safeguard civilian populations. Russia’s ongoing military presence of the city and Ukrainian combat operations over the Dnipro river both contribute to the perilous situation, yet accountability mechanisms are unclear. International bodies overseeing the conflict have documented the situation, but translating documentation into effective response has become difficult given the persistent military stalemate. The lack of a defined route to either continued humanitarian assistance or removal of civilians underscores the shortcomings of international pressure in areas of active warfare.

Calls for civilian safe routes and demilitarized withdrawal corridors have taken on greater importance as conditions deteriorate further. Aid workers argue that both Russian and Ukrainian forces have responsibilities according to international conventions to enable safe movement of civilians and safeguard civilians. Yet practical combat considerations—the tactical value of the Dnipro crossing, the risk of weaponised humanitarian movements—hinder practical execution. Without concrete agreements between opposing forces and international guarantees, Oleshky’s residents remain caught in a void of legal protection and practical support, their existence contingent on the goodwill of volunteers rather than the safeguards of global legal frameworks.

Those That Persist

Oleshky’s shrinking population tells a story of difficult decisions. Of the city’s wartime population, only some 2,000 people persist, maintaining their homes despite conditions that decline steadily. Those who have chosen to stay cite multiple factors: elderly relatives too weak to risk the journey, long-standing connections to a community spanning generations, or simply a paralyzing fear of what lies past the mined roads. For many, the familiar hazards of staying have felt comparatively safer to the unknown horrors of attempting escape along the “Road of Death.”

Daily life in Oleshky has been stripped down to its most basic elements. Residents rummage through abandoned neighbouring homes for scraps, adding to their food intake with pasta and tinned goods when volunteers succeed in deliver supplies. The psychological toll is substantial: witnessing shelling, hearing the relentless hum of aircraft overhead, and living under Russian occupation whilst Ukrainian forces position themselves just across the river. Yet despite these challenging situations, the residents who remain display a stubborn resilience, maintaining hope that circumstances might get better eventually or that evacuation routes will become safer.

• Roughly 2,000 civilians remain in Oleshky, down substantially from pre-war population figures.
• Residents depend on foraged food from abandoned homes and sporadic aid deliveries arranged by volunteers.
• Older and disabled residents face particular barriers to evacuation due to mobility difficulties and health issues.