Ukraine's foreign minister calls Russian-occupied Oleshky a 'death trap' as residents face starvation or the 'road of death'

A 40-year-old former hairdresser walked 20km along a partially mined escape route, fearing 'every step could have been my last'. Fewer than 2,000 people remain in Oleshky, a Dnipro river city once home to nearly 24,000. There is no electricity, heating or running water, and drones hover over the exit routes. With winter closing in, no deal on a safe humanitarian corridor has been agreed.

Russian forces took Oleshky when the 2022 full-scale invasion began.