Kherson’s humanitarian crisis spreads beyond Oleshky as Strasbourg hears of occupied towns' plight

A severe humanitarian crisis has spread beyond occupied Oleshky to dozens of settlements in the Kherson region near the front line, leaving thousands without power, gas, heating, or medical care. The situation was detailed by regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin at a Council of Europe session in Strasbourg. A recently imposed silence regime for evacuations in Oleshky has given Kherson residents a rare respite from Russian shelling, allowing them to visit homes near the Dnipro River for the first time in years. Prokudin noted about 60,000 people remain in Kherson, and no new casualties were reported during the truce. Many Oleshky residents want to evacuate to Ukrainian-controlled territory, but Russia is expected to obstruct the process and hide true numbers. Prokudin added that occupied areas face mining, forced passportization, and mobilization, while Ukrainian-held parts of the region are preparing for a difficult winter after nearly 2,000 attacks on its energy system since early 2026.