The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations has called on Pope Leo XIV to “use every possible means” to save residents of Oleshky in the temporarily occupied part of the Kherson region from starvation.
This is stated in an appeal by the Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (UCCRO).
According to the appeal, the city of Oleshky, located in Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by Russian forces, is under a humanitarian blockade and on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. The Council of Churches reports that food supplies were last delivered to the area at the end of May 2026. As a result, residents are going hungry, while Russian forces are preventing them from leaving the city.
“According to various estimates, more than 6,000 people may remain in the city of Oleshky and the surrounding area, including around 200 children, who are effectively in a ‘grey zone’ close to the front line. These are civilians who face the threat of shelling and drone attacks every day and remain without food, drinking water, medicines and other essential assistance. The city’s critical infrastructure has effectively been destroyed, while electricity and gas supplies are unavailable. We also recall that in 2023 the city was flooded as a result of Russian forces blowing up the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant,” the Council stressed.
The Council also added that the Ukrainian side has been continuously informing various international organisations about the critical situation in Oleshky and calling on them to provide the necessary assistance to prevent mass deaths. The Ukrainian authorities and international organisations are trying to reach an agreement on evacuating the city’s residents, but the Russian side is using the humanitarian catastrophe to spread propaganda that constitutes blatant manipulation and falsehoods. Russia has repeatedly disregarded international humanitarian law, subjecting the residents of Oleshky to suffering and starvation.
“In view of the above, UCCRO appeals to Pope Leo XIV, the World Council of Churches, the World Evangelical Alliance, other religious leaders, representatives of various denominations and human rights NGOs to raise their voices and use every possible means to save the residents of Oleshky in the Kherson region from starving to death,” the statement reads.
UCCRO also calls on UN member states and the International Committee of the Red Cross to take the necessary measures to conduct a humanitarian mission to evacuate residents of Oleshky to Ukrainian-controlled territory.
