"Literally fighting for their lives": Human Rights Commissioner's Office shares stories of evacuees from Russian-occupied Oleshky

During the years of Russian occupation, residents of Oleshky in Kherson Oblast have endured hunger, a lack of adequate medical care, and constant threats to their lives.

Some survived on courgettes, which they even used to make flour, while others had experienced being hunted by Russian drones.

Source: Office of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner in Zakarpattia Oblast, where some of the evacuees have moved

Details: One man survived several Russian drone attacks that left him with severe leg injuries. In May 2026, Russian forces hunted him with drones. He managed to take cover behind a gate but was still wounded.

Using just his arms, he dragged himself to his neighbours' home, and from there he was taken to hospital on a small farm cart. Although the hospital had long had no electricity or adequate supplies, medical staff put his leg in a plaster cast without examining him.

"The man spent three months at home, but his broken bones never healed," the Human Rights Commissioner's Office added. "He then spent another three months in a plaster cast, but without proper medical care or medication, he was unable to recover.

He is now safe, undergoing examinations at a medical facility in Zakarpattia and preparing for surgery that should restore his ability to walk normally."

Another family – a woman and her parents – refused to obtain Russian-issued passports for five years, despite pressure and threats from the occupying forces. The family survived largely by growing courgettes, which they even used to make flour.

"With no electricity, gas or sufficient food supplies, this was the only way they could stay alive," the office said.

The daughter is currently staying at a health and rehabilitation facility in Zakarpattia, where she receives three meals a day and has the opportunity to recover gradually.

"They endured things that are hard to imagine," the Human Rights Commissioner's Office said. "Years of occupation, constant fear, drone attacks, no electricity, gas or food, and worst of all, no access to adequate medical care. Some of these people were literally fighting for their lives, facing danger entirely on their own."

Background: Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets recently reported that 105 animals, including dogs, cats and parrots, were evacuated from Oleshky alongside their owners during the humanitarian mission.

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