Nearly 2,000 people, including 35 children, remain in occupied Oleshky without adequate medical care or basic services. Russia is blocking humanitarian access and refusing to agree to an evacuation corridor. Ukraine is calling on European governments and the European Union to increase political pressure to help save these people.

The situation in the city was discussed during a meeting in Brussels between the Minister for Communities, Territories and Internally Displaced Persons, Vitalii Bezgin, and the European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, and the DG ECHO team.

Mayor of Oleshky, Tetiana Hasanenko, described the current situation of people in the temporarily occupied territory. According to the Mayor, the residents of the city are without electricity, gas, basic services, and access to medical care. There are 35 children amongst those who remain in Oleshky.

'They need to be evacuated immediately. But russia is blocking humanitarian access, blocking any attempts to provide aid, and refusing to agree to a humanitarian corridor,' emphasised Vitalii Bezgin.

The meeting also addressed Ukraine’s humanitarian needs, support for frontline communities, the evacuation of people from dangerous territories, housing, and assistance for those forced to flee their homes.

The Ukrainian side is calling on the European Union and European governments to adopt a more resolute stance towards russia. Without political pressure, it is extremely difficult to secure the evacuation and provide assistance to those remaining in the occupied city.