Ukraine's rights commissioner shows Oleshky residents leaving on foot; a Russian soldier tells Regnum that Ukraine's drones are the danger
Three reports on the occupied town of Oleshky were published on 3 October. Two Ukrainian outlets show people leaving with no safe route out. One Russian outlet says Ukraine's forces attack the town from across the Dnipro. Neither account has been independently confirmed. No report quotes a resident.
Ukraine's account. Ukrinform says Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's parliamentary commissioner for human rights, posted a video of "dozens of people" in Oleshky "trying to leave the city on their own". Obozrevatel carries what looks like the same footage. Its headline says residents are "choosing between hunger and the fear of being blown up", and that they leave "without a safe route".
Russia's account. Regnum quotes a soldier from a drone company of Russia's 18th Combined Arms Army. He says Ukraine's armed forces "most often attack Oleshky" from Antonivka, on the Dnipro's right bank, and that Russian forces destroy the launch sites there "daily". The part of the report we hold does not mention anyone leaving.
| Ukrinform | Obozrevatel | Regnum | |
|---|---|---|---|
| People leaving? | Yes, "dozens" | Yes, on foot and by bicycle | Not mentioned |
| Who is named | Russian forces, as occupier | No one | Ukraine's forces, as attacker |
| Source | Lubinets's video | Video | One Russian serviceman |
Who is named as acting. Only Regnum names a side as the danger to the town. Obozrevatel describes hunger and explosions with no actor named. Ukrinform names Russia as the occupier but does not say what people are fleeing.
What is not settled - How many people are leaving, and where to. No report gives a count. - Who makes the route out unsafe. No report says. - Whether launch sites are destroyed "daily". That rests on one soldier's word. - What residents themselves say. None is quoted.
What this is about. Oleshky is a town in Ukraine's Kherson region. Russian forces hold it, and the reports disagree about who puts the people still living there in danger.
How it got here. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. In February 2022 it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Within days its forces pushed north from Crimea and took most of the Kherson region, including Oleshky, which sits on the left (south-eastern) bank of the Dnipro river. In November 2022 Russian forces withdrew from the city of Kherson and the right bank. Since then the Dnipro has been the front line. Ukraine holds the right bank, including villages such as Antonivka. Russia holds the left bank, including Oleshky. In June 2023 the Kakhovka dam upstream was destroyed and the left bank flooded, Oleshky with it. Ukraine and Russia each blame the other for the dam.
The actors. Russia's forces occupy the town and run it as part of a region Moscow claims to have annexed. Most countries do not recognise that claim. Ukraine's forces are across the river. Each side strikes the other's bank, increasingly with drones. Dmytro Lubinets is the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Ukraine's parliamentary ombudsman, whose remit covers Ukrainians in occupied areas. Regnum is a Russian news agency. Ukrinform is Ukraine's state news agency. Obozrevatel is a Ukrainian online outlet.
What is at stake. The civilians who stayed on the left bank are caught between two armies on a river front. Whether they can leave safely, and who is endangering them, is the question here, and each side answers it differently.
Where it stands. Both sides have released accounts. Neither has been independently confirmed. Independent reporters have very little access to the occupied left bank, so outsiders rarely hear from residents directly.
What is being argued about
- Whether residents of occupied Oleshky are leaving, and how many
- Who makes the town and the route out dangerous
- A Russian soldier's claim that Ukraine attacks the town from Antonivka
- The absence of any resident's own account
Claims and verdicts
No claims registered.
Who wrote it
Coverage, outlet by outlet
ВС России уничтожают точки запуска БПЛА, откуда ВСУ бьют по Алёшкам
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What we have measured
Actor label Calls Ukraine's president the head of a regime in the report's own voice. ×1Actor named names Ukraine's forces as the attacker of the town ×1Actor named Ukraine's armed forces are named outright as the side attacking the town ×1Actor named Names the organiser and says he is under arrest ×1
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Выбирают между голодом и страхом подорваться: жители Олешек бегут из города на велосипедах и пешком. Видео
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Read it at Obozrevatel →
What we have measured
Actor label Names the attacker as 'occupiers' and gives 12 hurt, with no one cited as counting ×1Actor named no attacker named; the drone 'hit near' the building ×1Actor named No actor is named, and the headline puts the hit near the building rather than on it. ×1Actors left vague the neighbouring countries are not named ×1
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