Russia Preparing ‘Happy, Well-Fed’ Propaganda Videos as Oleshky Civilians Face Humanitarian Crisis, Kyiv Says

Russia is preparing to stage dozens of videos featuring residents of occupied Oleshky in the Kherson region, forcing them to claim they are “well-fed and happy,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said. “According to our intelligence, Russia is preparing to stage dozens of videos in occupied Oleshky, forcing local residents to say on camera that they are happy, well-fed, and grateful to the Russian occupiers,” Sybiha wrote on X, calling it another example of what he described as Russian cynicism.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Oleshky, on the left bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region, has been under Russian occupation since the early days of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. According to earlier reports, around 2,000 residents, including nearly 50 children, are facing dire conditions in the town, with limited access to food, drinking water and electricity, while Russian forces block attempts to leave. “First, they occupy a town, cut off civilians’ escape routes, and block humanitarian aid. Then they force local residents to act in staged propaganda videos,” Sybiha wrote. He called the alleged recordings part of a “disgusting Russian propaganda campaign” aimed at denying the humanitarian crisis in Oleshky. Sybiha urged the international community and humanitarian organizations to increase pressure on Moscow and demand immediate access to the town. He said Ukrainian forces were also working to save civilians, including by delivering humanitarian aid with heavy-lift drones. Other Topics of Interest Medical Center in Central Kyiv on Fire After Russian Jet-Powered Drone Attack The Kyiv Post correspondent reported that the building on fire was the Dobrobut Academy medical center. “Every day counts in saving people who are starving and dying there. We urge our international partners to act now and demand immediate humanitarian access to end this disaster,” he said. Ukrainian forces have already used drones to deliver about 4,000 kilograms of food to Oleshky, according to Kherson Regional Military Administration (OVA) head Oleksandr Prokudin. Prokudin said the deliveries have been carried out since March in cooperation with units of the Ukrainian National Guard, Marines and Border Guard Service. “We recently managed to carry out one of the largest operations of this kind,” Prokudin said, describing a coordinated delivery of around 4,000 kilograms of food to 100 designated locations across the city. Addditionally, Russian forces have attempted to intercept the supply drones and, according to Ukrainian officials, have stolen or resold food intended for children and elderly residents.Ukrainian authorities also accuse Russian forces of detaining and abusing civilians who accept humanitarian aid, including holding them in basements and subjecting them to physical violence.In mid-September, Russian authorities failed to honor previously agreed arrangements for a humanitarian mission to evacuate civilians from occupied Oleshky.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was prepared to participate within its mandate, while Ukrainian security and defense forces had made arrangements for a ceasefire during the proposed operation.“These people must be saved,” Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said on Sept. 16, warning that “the city has been turned into a death trap.”Lubinets said his office had received 176 appeals about the humanitarian situation and verified at least 358 people who urgently need to leave.He estimated that more than 6,000 people, including around 200 children, could remain in Oleshky and the surrounding district. The figures could not be independently verified because Russian occupation authorities severely restrict access to information.Some residents have reportedly attempted to flee independently through mined areas, despite the risk of artillery shelling and near-daily drone attacks.The town has also been cut off from basic supplies. Residents have reportedly gone months without food or medicine deliveries, while some have resorted to bartering.Tetiana Hasanenko, head of the Oleshky City Military Administration, said on July 10 that no vehicles had entered or left the town since May 26.The hospital’s only pharmacy reportedly ran out of essential medicines months ago. Power cuts and fuel shortages have further disrupted medical care.Hasanenko also said the hospital morgue was destroyed by shelling, forcing bodies to be stored in a basement, while Russian occupation authorities allegedly prevent the burial of some drone-strike victims pending forensic examinations elsewhere.Residents also cannot access their bank accounts because cash withdrawals require leaving the town.The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said international humanitarian law requires occupying powers to ensure access to food and medical supplies and facilitate humanitarian relief when local resources are insufficient.According to the same report, at least 29 civilians were killed and 54 wounded in Oleshky and nearby occupied Hola Prystan in 2026, with many casualties independently verified by the UN Human Rights Office. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. 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