Trapped residents in Oleshky face severe shortages of food, water, heating, gas, electricity, and medicine, with some resorting to eating wild weeds or hunting pigeons to survive.

An ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine that was sparked with Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and escalated into a full-scale invasion in February 2022, resulting in widespread casualties, displacement and significant geopolitical consequences for Europe and the world.