Today, I sent a letter to Pope Leo XIV, asking him to be the voice of the people of Oleshky. For more than three months, they have been under blockade, without food and with no possibility of leaving the mined city, which is subjected to daily drone attacks.
Please, let this voice be heard.
Oleshky needs help. Now.
URGENT HUMANITARIAN APPEAL
FOR THE ATTENTION OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
Segreteria di Sua Santità Leone XIV
00120 Città del Vaticano
Vatican City
10 September 2026
Rome, Italy
Most Holy Father,
I am writing to Your Holiness with a cry for life.
In the city of Oleshky, people are trapped without food. The city has been under blockade for more than three months. Oleshky is situated on the “zero line” of the war between Ukraine and Russia. The city is under Russian control and administration. Volunteers in direct contact with residents report extreme humanitarian isolation.
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has documented that, as of 24 June 2026, there had been no food deliveries to Oleshky since 26 May. The Head of the Mission, Danielle Bell, described the situation in clear terms: people cannot get out, food cannot get in, and the sick and injured cannot receive the medical assistance they need.
On 1 September, four vehicles carrying food and medicines tried to reach the city. They were attacked by drones seven kilometres from Oleshky. People are now searching for food in destroyed houses and reportedly surviving on grass and wild plants. Volunteers receiving information from the city report that people are dying from hunger and lack of medical care.
Holy Father, I ask you: please do not let them die in silence.
I was born in Ukraine. For eighteen years I have studied hunger, especially the post-war famine of 1946– 1947 in Ukraine. This long-term investigation gave rise to my scientific-artistic project “HUNGER", presented through the exhibition “Repentance and Hope” at the Church of St Ignatius of Loyola in Rome (2025). I have spent years looking into the face of hunger in history. Today, that face is in Oleshky.
Holy Father, please speak for those who have no voice.
This is not a political appeal. It is an appeal for life.
I attach to this letter an URGENT APPEAL from ASOCIACION DE SEÑOR COLA DE VOLUNTARIOS AYUDANTES A ANIMALES, whose volunteers maintain direct contact with residents and local volunteers in the region. Their appeal provides further information about the food crisis, the unsuccessful attempt to deliver food and medicines on 1 September, and the evidence and testimonies available to them.
“September 1 is the day of the lost last hope. The hope for food, for evacuation, for life.” — A woman currently in Oleshky
With Hope,
Yona Tukuser
Artist and Peace Activist
Creator of the performance “Hope for Peace”, St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, May 2025
