THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE HOLODOMOR-GENOCIDE
16 September 2026, Kyiv, Ukraine
The National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide draws the international community’s attention to the humanitarian situation in the temporarily occupied town of #Oleshky and the adjacent settlements in the Kherson region, temporarily #occupied by the #RussianFederation.
The left bank of the Kherson region has been under Russian occupation since the very first days of the full-scale invasion, for over four and a half years now. In June 2023, the region suffered a catastrophic man-made disaster caused by the deliberate blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam by Russian military forces, which led to widespread flooding of residential areas. Although the occupying administration acknowledged only 59 deaths, the actual number of victims of the flooding in Oleshky alone could have run into the hundreds.
According to an official statement from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated 6 May 2026, the population of the Oleshky community has fallen from 40,000 to nearly 6,000. In Oleshky itself, the population has decreased from 24,000 to approximately 2,000. The town’s critical infrastructure has been destroyed; there is no electricity or gas supply, and civilians attempting to obtain food or leave the town are being targeted by attacks using FPV drones. An independent source has also confirmed these figures. According to a report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) dated 25 June 2026, at least 29 civilians were killed and 54 wounded in Oleshky and Hola Prystan in 2026, mostly due to drone attacks.
Famine is among the most severe problems in these areas.. The situation has significantly worsened since autumn 2025 due to a lack of heating and the effective cessation of food supplies. According to Tetiana Hasanenko, Head of the Oleshky City Military Administration, as well as journalists and volunteers monitoring the situation, residents had to eat pheasants, pigeons, and food surrogates.
On 12 August 2026, Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that the Ukrainian side had completed all the necessary preparatory measures for the evacuation of the civilian population from Oleshky and neighbouring settlements, while the Russian side continues to obstruct people from leaving.
As an institution dedicated to researching the history of the Holodomor genocide, one of the mechanisms of which was the deliberate deprivation of food from the population, we draw the international community’s attention to these facts. We consider it our professional duty to highlight the facts of the prolonged blockade of the civilian population, the lack of access to food, water and medical care, as well as the systematic obstruction of their evacuation.
Accordingly, the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide calls upon:
The International Committee of the Red Cross to make every effort to ensure humanitarian access to the civilian population in the Oleshky community and facilitate their safe evacuation in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Partner museums and memorial institutions working on the history of genocides, crimes against humanity and war crimes to disseminate information about the situation in Oleshky and neighbouring communities among their audiences and the professional community.
We are convinced that silence around a mass humanitarian crisis is unacceptable, and we call on the international community not to ignore the situation in #Oleshky.
National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide
Please see the information on the situation in Oleshky and the neighbouring areas in English:
Rzheutska L. Hunger in Oleshky: Ukraine asks for evacuation. DW. 2026. 06 June.
Statement by the MFA of Ukraine on the Critical Humanitarian Situation in Occupied Areas of the Kherson Region. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. 2026. 06 May.
Thousands trapped in southern Ukraine struggle to survive. United Nations. 2026. 25 June.
