r/ukraine

Disclaimer:

This video is for educational and informational purposes only. It is neither intended to glorify nor encourage violence. It just documents the brutal reality of the war and shows how military units edit and publish their footage. Viewer discretion advised! Remember Rule 1!

A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in russian-occupied Oleshky, Kherson region.

A russian war crime on a massive scale. Those poor people...

russia is effectively keeping the city under blockade: without fuel, electricity, medicine, and food. About 2,000 people currently remain in the city, including fifty children.

"There is no food supply or evacuation. People are faced with a terrible choice: to wait for death by starvation or to walk miles along mined roads in search of a piece of bread, at the risk of shelling," head of Kherson military administration said in an interview with Meidas Defense. Civilians have to walk 50 kilometers to Skadovsk, the regional center, to get provisions, apply for social assistance, receive pensions, etc., because none of these services is available in Oleshky.

Getting in and out of the city by vehicle is next to impossible. All transport moving along the road, referred to as "The Road of Death," is targeted by drones and shelling. Even if supplies are delivered, they rarely reach people, as russian soldiers take up to 80% of deliveries and also steal from locals.

The situation is further complicated by the collapse of the water supply. The last time russia installed water tanks was in 2024. Now, only those living in private houses can access well water, which is not tested for safety, while others rely on melted snow during the winter.

Due to the collapse of food and medical access, two or three deaths are reported daily, according to Tetiana Hasanenko, head of the Oleshky city military administration. The hospital is treating only russian military personnel, she says.

The causes of death include malnutrition, heart attacks, traumatic amputations, blood loss, and hypothermia amid a severe winter and a prolonged heating crisis. According to Hasanenko, there are currently 318 identified victims, including 246 wounded and 72 dead. In many cases, identification is not possible.

Photo: 34th Marine Brigade, Igrik Kherson/Facebook

Our armored vehicle, The Beast, can unfortunately no longer be used for evacuations at the front.

The situation there has changed to such an extent that this vehicle now actually puts us at greater risk. In the areas where we carry out evacuations, there are swarms of kamikaze drones. The vehicle is not maneuverable enough, not fast enough, and in an emergency it takes us more than a minute to get out. This means that if we are hit and, for example, a fire breaks out, we would not be able to escape. Continuing evacuations with this vehicle could cost us our lives.

To avoid the temptation of continuing to use this vehicle for evacuations, we have decided to let it go. The vehicle is still suitable for use just outside the front line or under armed escort. That is why we have decided to transfer The Beast to a unit of the Third Assault Brigade, which will also use it for evacuations. These soldiers are armed and can undoubtedly save even more lives with it.

The soldiers have given the vehicle a new name: Zhenka, in honor of our friend Zhenya, who was killed on October 23 together with our colleague and friend Alyona in a drone attack. Our Beast/Zhenka has undoubtedly saved lives and is now entering a third, honorable chapter.

We ourselves are in the process of acquiring a much faster and more maneuverable armored vehicle so that we can continue carrying out evacuations. Unfortunately, these vehicles are extremely expensive, but we are confident we will succeed. For our next trip, which starts at the end of next week, we are determined to carry out evacuations again using a “new” armored vehicle.

Our armored vehicle, The Beast, can unfortunately no longer be used for evacuations at the front.

The situation there has changed to such an extent that this vehicle now actually puts us at greater risk. In the areas where we carry out evacuations, there are swarms of kamikaze drones. The vehicle is not maneuverable enough, not fast enough, and in an emergency it takes us more than a minute to get out. This means that if we are hit and, for example, a fire breaks out, we would not be able to escape. Continuing evacuations with this vehicle could cost us our lives.

To avoid the temptation of continuing to use this vehicle for evacuations, we have decided to let it go. The vehicle is still suitable for use just outside the front line or under armed escort. That is why we have decided to transfer The Beast to a unit of the Third Assault Brigade, which will also use it for evacuations. These soldiers are armed and can undoubtedly save even more lives with it.

The soldiers have given the vehicle a new name: Zhenka, in honor of our friend Zhenya, who was killed on October 23 together with our colleague and friend Alyona in a drone attack. Our Beast/Zhenka has undoubtedly saved lives and is now entering a third, honorable chapter.

We ourselves are in the process of acquiring a much faster and more maneuverable armored vehicle so that we can continue carrying out evacuations. Unfortunately, these vehicles are extremely expensive, but we are confident we will succeed. For our next trip, which starts at the end of next week, we are determined to carry out evacuations again using a “new” armored vehicle.

This case has stayed with me since 2022, and with March marking the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, it felt like an important time to revisit it. I have shared this in a few places on Reddit, hoping to bring awareness to her story.

Karina Yershova had already been displaced once, forced to leave Donetsk in 2014. Years later, during the occupation of Bucha, she was killed.

I’m sharing a local news video from 2022, the articles below go more into what happened to her and the broader context of russian crimes in Ukraine.

Shifting policies, including the removal of sanctions, it felt worth bringing attention back to individual stories like hers that can otherwise be forgotten.

The original newscast is in Russian so I am reposting with an English dub and captions. This has been generated with captioning software.

Source : https://youtu.be/U1VPcpcd1ZI