To stay or risk the 'Road of Death' - Ukrainian civilians trapped in frontline city

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. To stay or risk the 'Road of Death' - Ukrainian civilians trapped in frontline city6 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleJessica Parker ,in KyivandPaul Brown , VerifyTelegramPeople in Oleshky say fresh food supplies are rare and they have to rely on volunteers and aid groups"The road is mined. So, we're stuck here," says Ludmilla, over the phone from the rooftop of a fire-damaged house in southern Ukraine. "People are trying their best to survive.

"Her frontline home city of Oleshky has, according to multiple accounts, been largely cut off from fresh supplies of food or medicine for months. Ludmilla describes being trapped there, and watching it decaying before her eyes. Ukraine's commissioner for human rights has warned of a "humanitarian crisis.

The Details

"Some recent deliveries do seem to have gone through, organised by volunteers or aid groups. Photos seen by the show a crowd of people, many of them elderly, apparently fetching fresh supplies in a city square. A relief even if prices were high, says Ludmilla, as people have had to forage for food in the abandoned homes of neighbours.

Ludmilla is not her real name. Her name and the names of other residents who have spoken to the have been changed to protect their identities. Pasta and tinned goods, she tells us, have become a key staple for the roughly 2,000 remaining population.

Any attempt to leave Oleshky, say locals, is to gamble with your life along what's been dubbed "The Road of Death" - due to reports of heavy mining. Oleshky is imprisoned by both geography and war; cut off by a river and wrecked bridges to the north – and dangerous or impassable roads inland. All the while it is caught in the crossfire of opposing armies.

What Experts Say

The city lies on the left or east bank of the Dnipro river and has been under Russian occupation since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion. Ukrainian troops are dug in on the other side of the river, just outside Kherson - the big city they recaptured in November 2022, driving the Russians back across the river. Residents, volunteers and officials report that, as last winter set in, snowfall made the danger points harder to see amid intensified mining.

The snow is gone but the mines, people fear, are still there. Despite the dangers, there have been some successful, recent evacuations along the 'Road of Death', south-west along the route of the Dnipro river. "Leaving Oleshky, everyone prayed to God that we wouldn't hit a mine," says Volodymyr, who's in his 50s.

Terrorised by drones and traumatised by seeing his neighbour's body carted away after she was hit by shelling, he says his family finally took the decision to leave. "None of us could endure it any longer. "Volodymyr recounts being driven out in an ambulance in an evacuation arranged by volunteers.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.