In an occupied Ukrainian town, getting food means risking the road of death
Residents walk for hours past burned out cars and mines to find supplies, and one woman has told her husband to stay put.
Reuters World News · US execution livestream, Nobel peace prize and a Siberian plague scareWrecked cars line the main road out of Oleshky, a town in southern Ukraine held by Russian forces. The route leads farther into territory under Russian control, and for the people still living in Oleshky, it is also the way to food and water.
Residents make the trip on foot and by bicycle, a journey that takes hours along roads scattered with mines. People there call the route the road of death.
That is what daily survival now requires in Oleshky, where food and medicine have grown dangerously scarce. Russia has acknowledged the hardship and says its forces are trying to improve conditions, while blaming Ukraine for stopping aid from getting into the town.
For 72-year-old Larisa, a former Oleshky resident who fled early in the war in 2022, the danger feels personal. Her husband is still there, living on dwindling rations.
She has told him not to travel that route. To her, each trip is a gamble with mines, patrols, and wreckage, and she calls it Russian roulette.
"You know, it's like luck," she said. "As they say, Russian roulette."
Her account could not be independently verified, but it matches descriptions from others who know the suffering in Oleshky, including witnesses, officials, and relief workers. While negotiators and officials debate support and strategy elsewhere, people in the town are measuring their choices in a stark way.
Stay, and face hunger with what little food remains. Go, and risk the hours long walk for more.
Questions people ask
Where is Oleshky and why is it occupied?
Oleshky is a small city in southern Ukraine, across the Dnipro River from the city of Kherson. Russian forces seized it during the full scale invasion in 2022 and have held the area since, even after Ukraine retook Kherson city later that year. Its position near the front line has made aid and civilian movement extremely difficult.
Why are there mines on the roads?
Both sides have used landmines extensively during the war in Ukraine, and the country is now one of the most heavily mined places in the world. Mines can remain dangerous for years, and they threaten civilians long after fighting moves on. Roads near front lines and occupied areas are especially risky because they may be mined, damaged, or littered with unexploded shells.
Why would Russia blame Ukraine for the shortages?
Oleshky sits in a contested river zone where access depends on who controls roads, crossings, and permission for aid convoys. Moscow says Ukrainian actions are preventing supplies from getting through. Ukraine and aid groups have often said Russian occupation and fighting make safe delivery impossible, a common dispute in besieged or occupied towns.