'We Came Back from Hell': Ukrainians Escape Occupied Frontline City of Oleshky

Ukrainians evacuated from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky have recounted years of intense hardship and peril along the southern front line, describing their survival as an escape from hell. Among the evacuees, one couple detailed how they were forced to traverse active minefields simply to search for food in the battered Dnipro River settlement. Their escape follows an intricate rescue operation that brought remaining residents out of the heavily isolated town.

For those trapped inside Oleshky, daily life had deteriorated into an unrelenting struggle for basic survival under foreign military control. Evacuated civilians reported that the search for sustenance routinely meant risking life and limb among unexploded ordnance and active combat zones. In remarks shared upon reaching safety, survivors described overwhelming fear and devastation, emphasizing that returning alive felt like emerging from an unimaginable nightmare.

The journey out of the frontline city required an arduous and circuitous route spanning multiple international borders. Because direct crossings across the active battlefront in Kherson Oblast remain blocked by heavy combat, evacuees were routed through Russian territory and into Belarus. From there, civilians finally crossed back into government-controlled northern Ukraine, where family members and humanitarian workers waited to receive them.

Oleshky, situated directly across the Dnipro River from the regional capital of Kherson, fell under Russian occupation in the opening days of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Since Ukrainian forces liberated western Kherson late that year, the city has sat squarely on the zero line, exposed to relentless artillery exchanges and aerial surveillance. The frontline position turned the once-vibrant town into an isolated and heavily fortified combat zone.

The plight of the trapped civilian population worsened dramatically following the catastrophic destruction of the Kakhovka Dam upstream in June 2023. Massive floodwaters inundated large swaths of Oleshky, submerging residential neighborhoods and displacing buried landmines throughout the area. With rescue efforts severely constrained under occupation, many elderly and vulnerable residents were left stranded in flooded and ruined structures without potable water or power.

In the months that followed the flooding, basic public utilities and municipal services ceased functioning almost entirely. Remaining residents experienced severe shortages of medicine, commercial food supplies, and heating, frequently relying on whatever could be scavenged or grown in local gardens. The presence of unexploded munitions, landmines, and constant drone activity made even routine movements outside private dwellings extraordinarily hazardous.

The testimony from Oleshky highlights the acute humanitarian toll borne by non-combatants trapped in contested frontline zones across Ukraine. Human rights observers and international monitoring groups have repeatedly raised alarms over the severe restrictions, isolation, and risks facing civilians in occupied territories near the contact line. Cut off from independent aid organizations, these communities often face protracted periods without access to legal protection or essential medical care.

Upon arriving in government-held territory, evacuees face a challenging transition as they begin addressing deep physical and psychological trauma. Relief volunteers in reception centers noted that survivors often arrive exhausted, carrying few belongings and bearing the psychological strain of prolonged shelling and military occupation. Medical and psychosocial teams have been mobilized to provide immediate assistance, documentation, and transitional housing for the newly arrived families.

While the recent arrivals have found safety, Ukrainian authorities and volunteer networks acknowledge that an unknown number of civilians remain stranded in Russian-occupied settlements along the southern riverfront. Securing humanitarian passage through active combat zones remains fraught with logistical, diplomatic, and security obstacles. For those who managed to escape Oleshky, the relief of survival is tempered by the profound loss of their hometown and ongoing anxiety for those left behind.