The human shields of Oleshky

Yesterday, Kyiv announced that it is working with Moscow on an evacuation plan for the town of Oleshky, which has been living under occupation since 2022. Rather than simply living, under the worst form of occupation, Oleshky and its inhabitants are trying to survive, before they disappear. Around 1,700 people are trapped in the town, having been used as human shields so far; Moscow needs them to remain inside. Not only are they unable to enter territory still controlled by Ukraine, but they cannot even reach other areas occupied by the Russians. Residents in Oleshky are starving; the last food delivery was on 26 May, and those trapped there are trying to feed themselves by sharing what little food remains. While Moscow has made Mariupol the showcase of its occupation – highlighting its reconstruction and repopulation – the occupation has a very different face, far removed from Mariupol and the staged crime scene.

It is a landscape of rubble and hunger, of persecution, espionage, threats, blackmail and poverty. There are several areas, such as Oleshky, without functioning hospitals, where the predominantly elderly population is abandoned and left without care. There is the annihilation of all that remains of Ukrainian identity. People are forced to hold a Russian passport if they wish to access basic services; every Ukrainian word is punished; and schools, where they still exist, are factories of propaganda. Oleshky has become notorious for its tragedy, but this is what Russification looks like, and it extends across around twenty per cent of the Ukrainian territory that Moscow has seized by force; this is what is at stake when negotiating an end to the war: being on one side or the other of the border changes everything. The areas occupied by Moscow remain in the dark; at best, one can catch a glimpse thanks to a Ukrainian drone or a local resident risking their life to communicate with the outside world. Moscow needs the Ukrainians to remain in Oleshky; without residents, it would be more difficult for Russian soldiers to hide from drones and Ukrainian fire, and they would have to withdraw.