cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/11589441

Ukraine’s military has used drones to deliver food and medicine to the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, the governor of Ukraine’s Kherson region said, as officials warn about a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Sunday that, in the latest operation, heavy-lift drones delivered about four tons of food and medical supplies to 100 locations across the town simultaneously.

Oleshky, a frontline town on the Dnipro River, which separates Russian and Ukrainian forces, has been under Russian occupation since 2022.

Prokudin said that close to 2,000 people, including about 50 children, were being held “hostage”, without food, electricity and water, and accused Moscow’s forces of preventing them from escaping the town.

Ukrainian officials have warned of the situation in Oleshky becoming more dire.

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Meanwhile, Russia is shooting down food deliveries, confiscating supplies that reach the ground and blocking evacuation.

Russian forces are blocking civilians from evacuating and actively obstructing drone deliveries.

Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, said troops are shooting down food-carrying drones, confiscating or reselling supplies that reach the ground, and detaining residents found with humanitarian parcels.

Soldiers are conducting house-to-house searches for dropped food, residents report.

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The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has said that residents have endured months of food shortages and “extremely limited” access to basic necessities.

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The Council of Europe warns civilians face "a high risk of death" with no food, medicine, water or electricity.

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[–] 8 points 10 hours ago

Nor russias first war crime. Not russias last

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  • [–] 29 points 13 hours ago* (3 children)

    My first internal response was "How do the Ukrainians make sure that the drones can be recognized as humanitarian aid?". The picture in the article just shows grey shadows in a dark sky. In a war defined by the buzzing sound of little rotors, my first instinct would be to shoot them down as well. But then:

    [...] troops are shooting down food-carrying drones, confiscating or reselling supplies that reach the ground, and detaining residents found with humanitarian parcels.

    Yeah, the fuckers know it's just aid ...

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  • [+] -11 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

    Yeah, the fuckers know it's just aid ...

    The famous russian x-ray vision

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  • [–] 1 point 4 hours ago

    No reasonable person faults them for shooting down the first bunch. But once it became clear that the whole swarm is just carrying supplies for civilians they should have stopped. Which they obviously didn't.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 hours ago (5 children)

    Confiscating and shooting down drones? Ok, from a security perspective, I see the the problem.

    Maybe investigate the packages, then hand them back?

    Preventing them from escaping, though, that's going to be a problem. Especially since their argument is that the population wants them there.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

    Yeah I hate to say this, but Russia can construct a pretty good argument or justification for intercepting drones.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 hours ago (1 child)

    Intercepting, fine. Those supplies, while not entirely intact, will make it to the ground, one way or another.

    I also suspect the drones don't come in swarms, at high speeds, and they probably drop the supplies in a specific area that would result in either few casualties or minimal damage if it was an attack.

    Given that the invaders are keeping or selling the packages, the Russians know they are benign.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 hours ago (1 child)

    Russian soldiers have been stealing and reselling the supplies and reports of villagers foraging for weeds have been common now. Russia is engaging in genocide against Ukrainians.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 hours ago

    Oh, yes. Sorry, I didn't mean to imply there wasn't active genocide being committed by Russia.

    Kremlin Shills are the ones saying that Ukraine is committing genocide against ethnic Russian Ukrainian citizens.

    That was their propaganda in 2014 after the Revolution of Dignity, a "coup" overthrew their puppet, and Russia then needed to save the ethnic Russian minority in Ukraine, because they were now controlled by Nazis.

    For whatever reason, they think this propaganda works outside of Russia.

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  • [+] -18 points 12 hours ago (1 child)

    Fuckin Geniuses. Use drones, which are associated with bombs to deliver humanitarian aid. It's like having the police vaccinating homies in the hood

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