Residents evacuated from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky have reached Ukrainian-held territory following a rare local truce. Those who made the journey described years of isolation, chronic food shortages and regular shelling, and some said they had been forced to eat grass and dogs to survive.
Russian forces seized Oleshky in the early days of the full-scale invasion that began in 2022. The city has since been cut off on two sides, bounded by the Dnipro River on one side and Russian troops on the other, which has left those who stayed with few routes out and limited access to supplies.
The evacuation became possible only because of a temporary local ceasefire, an arrangement that is uncommon in the fighting along this part of the front. For residents, the truce offered a rare opportunity to leave a place where daily life had been defined by scarcity and danger for more than three years.
The accounts from those who arrived on Ukrainian-held ground describe a population worn down by long periods without reliable food and the constant risk of shelling. Their testimony offers a direct picture of conditions inside the city that is difficult to verify independently, as access to occupied Oleshky remains heavily restricted.
The return of these residents underlines the human cost of a city that has remained isolated since its capture. For the Ukrainian authorities and the families who have waited for news, the arrival of people from Oleshky confirms both the hardship endured by civilians and the limited means of escape still open to them.
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