The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO), which brings together diverse religious communities, including Orthodox Christians, Roman and Greek Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and Jews, issues this appeal concerning the humanitarian catastrophe in the city of Oleshky, Kherson region.
“The city of Oleshky, located in the territory of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russian forces, is under a humanitarian blockade and is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. The last food supplies were delivered to the area at the end of May 2026. As a result, residents are starving, while Russian forces are preventing them from leaving the city. According to various estimates, more than 6,000 people, including approximately 200 children, may remain in Oleshky and the surrounding area, effectively trapped in a “grey zone” near the front line,” the Council said.
In view of the above, the UCCRO appeals to Pope Leo XIV, the World Council of Churches, the World Evangelical Alliance, other religious leaders, representatives of various faith communities, and human rights non-governmental organizations to raise their voices and use every available means to save the residents of Oleshky, Kherson region, from death by starvation.
The appeal also calls upon UN member states and the International Committee of the Red Cross to take the necessary measures to carry out a humanitarian mission to evacuate residents of the city of Oleshky to Ukraine-controlled territory.
As earlier reported, Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman), states that the Russian side has effectively blocked the continuation of humanitarian evacuations of civilians from the town of Oleshky—located in the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region—which currently remains in a "gray zone" facing constant shelling risks and a lack of food, drinking water, and medical supplies.
