Ihor (name changed for security reasons) managed to escape the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in Ukraine. He walked 30 kilometres, leaving behind his home, his belongings and his entire former life.

Oleshky is facing a humanitarian catastrophe. For months, people have been living without reliable supplies of food and medicines, without electricity or gas and without sufficient drinking water. According to available information, more than 6,000 people currently require assistance. Among them are around 200 children, older people, persons with disabilities, people with limited mobility, the wounded and those who are seriously ill, for whom leaving the occupied territory independently is particularly difficult or even impossible.

Ihor recalls the first days of the full-scale war. At first, he did not even believe his friend who called to tell him that the war had begun. The reality sank in only when Ihor saw helicopters flying low over the city.

During the first shelling, people sheltered in basements. After spending a night in one of them, Ihor decided to get the children out of Oleshky.

“My grandson was three and a half years old. He spent the whole night sleeping on a sack of potatoes.”

Today, the city is under constant drone surveillance. In the evenings, drones fly low near houses, sometimes close enough to see what is happening inside.

Local residents have learned to distinguish between “friendly” and “hostile” drones. Before leaving home, people first have to “greet” the drone – only then do they dare to move on. People travel around the city on foot or by bicycle, avoiding sudden movements.

If a “hostile drone” appears to notice something suspicious, people run to the nearest house for shelter.

“All the houses are open anyway – the windows and doors have been smashed.”

The land in Oleshky poses another danger. Ihor says the surrounding area is heavily contaminated with mines, and a single wrong step can be fatal. If someone is injured, there is often practically no one who can reach them and provide help.

“We have already been flooded, burned…” he recalls. His own house was also hit. Almost all the cars in the city have been damaged or destroyed.

After the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, the floodwaters came within 20–30 metres of his home. People with limited mobility were among those who died in houses that were flooded.

“We have no gas. There is water in the pipes.”

Medicines are also extremely scarce, with only minimal supplies reaching the city. According to Ihor, the lack of electricity and functioning services has also made it extremely difficult to handle burials.

But hunger is what people feel most acutely. Ihor says there are no regular food supplies to the city nor is humanitarian assistance being allowed in.

At one point, he says, residents were waiting for a previously arranged commercial food delivery. The vehicles never reached the city: the first and last vehicles in the convoy came under fire, the drivers fled and the food was taken by Russian soldiers. Ihor says food is also taken from local residents. People give up what they have in order to stay alive.

“People have only a handful of grain left. There is nothing to eat.”

During the summer, residents tried to grow whatever food they could. They used seeds left over from previous years or seeds they had saved themselves. Even the first cabbage leaves were selling for 100 roubles (around 1.70 euros). Ten eggs can cost 3,000 roubles (approximately 32 euros). The potato harvest was poor, producing only very small potatoes. As colder weather approaches, vegetables are running out, along with other food supplies.

People often eat pigeons. According to Ihor, there have even been cases when people killed dogs because they had nothing else to eat.

Ihor also tried to grow whatever he could, planting small rows of cucumbers and tomatoes. He says this was how he survived – eating salads and whatever porridge he could make from the supplies he still had. Over this period, he lost 26 kilograms.

Ihor eventually made the decision to leave Oleshky. He covered 30 kilometres on foot in eight hours. Several more days of travelling followed before he finally reached the Domanove border crossing via Belarus.

Ukraine welcomed Ihor back with an air-raid alert. But after everything he had left behind, he spoke about it calmly: “That is a small thing now.”

There he met the staff of Caritas Volyn, who assist people crossing the border from Belarus. After the exhausting journey, Ihor looked so different from the man in his passport photo that he was barely recognisable.

At Caritas Volyn’s transit centre in Kortelisy, he was finally able to rest. The following morning, the staff helped him continue his journey. They drove him to Kovel, helped him buy a ticket and accompanied him to his bus.

Only the final part of the journey remained – and the long-awaited reunion with his family. His grandson was three and a half when they got him out. Now he is already in second grade.

Once, Ihor’s home contained everything he needed for his life. Today, everything he has fits into two pieces of luggage.

“My home is a bag and a backpack,” he says with a smile.

Ihor has escaped, but others remain in Oleshky, facing the hunger and danger he left behind. His story reminds us that for many people living under occupation, survival remains a daily struggle.

The EU has called for humanitarian access and the protection of civilians in the occupied region. These calls must now be backed by concrete action to protect those still at risk and uphold international humanitarian law.

Under international humanitarian law, the occupying power has specific obligations towards the population under its control, including ensuring access to food and medical provisions, facilitating relief operations, protecting civilians and respecting their fundamental rights. The EU and its Member States must use every diplomatic, political and practical tool at their disposal to press for compliance with these obligations, ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches those most in need and establish clear accountability for violations.

Article written in collaboration with Caritas Ukraine.

Photo provided by Caritas Ukraine.