Ukraine again sends food and medicine by drone to occupied Oleshky: nearly 4 tons in almost 400 packages

Ukraine has carried out a second major operation to deliver food and medicine by drone to the Russian-occupied southern town of Oleshky, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced on Sunday (October 4). The new shipment consisted of almost 400 specialised packages with nearly four tons of food and medicine, distributed by drones over the town.

The operation was carried out by members of Ukraine’s National Guard together with other defence units, the Interior Ministry announced, as Reuters reports. Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi thanked all the participants in this humanitarian action, while special praise went to the crew of the “Perun” drone, which during the operation also rescued six animals from the occupied territory.

“For months, Russia has been trying to isolate Ukrainians in Oleshky from the outside world, also hindering the delivery of food for people facing severe shortages,” Sybiha wrote on the X platform, in the statement quoted by Reuters.

Oleshky is a frontline town along the Dnipro River, occupied by Russia since 2022. Around 2,000 residents remain in the town, among them about 50 children, who for months have suffered shortages of food and medicine. Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, has stated that the Russian side has not accepted Kyiv’s proposals for the evacuation of civilians.

The Kremlin itself has acknowledged that Oleshky has “critical” supply problems, but claims that the Russian army is working to solve them. Sunday’s operation comes just a few days after the first similar delivery at the end of September, when Ukrainian drones distributed a first cargo of aid over the isolated town.