National Guard troops broke the blockade of occupied Oleshky for a second time, delivering about 400 packages of food and medicine by drone.
Overnight on 4 October, troops of the National Guard's 11th Mykhailo Hrushevsky Brigade and 34th Kherson Regiment delivered humanitarian aid to occupied Oleshky, in the Kherson region, for the second time. Drones carried roughly 400 packages — close to four tonnes of food, medicine and other basic supplies. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha praised the professionalism of those involved. For Volunteers Support Ukraine, a story about getting aid to people who are cut off is close to the heart of our own work.
According to Sybiha, Russia has spent months trying to isolate the residents of Oleshky from the outside world, obstructing even deliveries of food to people facing acute shortages. Ukraine's defenders broke through that blockade again, using modern technology to keep civilian life going behind enemy lines. National Guard troops, marines and border guards all took part in planning and carrying out the mission.
Oleshky sits on the east bank of the Dnipro, less than four kilometres from Ukrainian-held Kherson. According to Tetiana Hasanenko, the exiled head of the city's military administration, only 12 people reached Ukrainian-controlled territory in September, even though more than 60 left the city. About 2,000 civilians remain, many unable to move on their own, and the local hospital lacks medicine, electricity and running water. Mined roads, checkpoints and drone attacks make evacuation harder still.
On 6 October, National Guard soldiers of the "Bolharychi" company, in an operation codenamed "Tigers", flew six cats born during the occupation of Oleshky across the Dnipro in a special cage — more than ten kilometres by air. Local residents helped the troops with the rescue.
NGO Volunteers Support Ukraine keeps helping people affected by the war in whatever way the available aid allows. News from Oleshky is a reminder of how much each package matters, and how important every chance to reach people in isolation is.
