Moscow, October 11, 2026 – The Europe Today: Russia is in contact with the office of US First Lady Melania Trump over humanitarian aid deliveries and urgent evacuations from the town of Alyoshki, known in Ukrainian as Oleshky, according to Russia’s human rights commissioner, Yana Lantratova.
Lantratova said the First Lady has expressed willingness to support humanitarian efforts in the town, where civilians remain trapped amid severe shortages of food, water and medicine. Writing on Telegram on Saturday, she said Moscow continues to work with “the American side and the team of Melania Trump” to address the situation. She added that difficult negotiations are under way to arrange aid deliveries and to evacuate residents who need urgent medical care.
Alyoshki lies near the front line on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Region. The area is under Russian control, and Moscow declared it annexed in 2022 following referendums that Ukraine and most of the international community do not recognise. According to local authorities, the town has been largely without basic services for months, and between 1,500 and 2,000 residents remain there, including elderly people, women and children. Frequent drone attacks and remotely laid mines are reported to be hampering both aid deliveries and evacuations.
According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump discussed the humanitarian situation in the town during their phone call on Friday. The two leaders agreed that the commissioner would maintain contact with the First Lady’s office.
Russian officials blame Kyiv for the crisis. Lantratova said Ukrainian forces destroyed the most recent humanitarian convoy even though its vehicles were clearly marked, and that residents have been forced to risk their lives bringing in supplies on foot or by bicycle. She said aid could reach the town and evacuations could proceed if attacks and mining of civilian supply routes stopped, and that assistance would be provided to all residents regardless of their political views.
Earlier in the week, Russian Foreign Ministry envoy Rodion Miroshnik accused Ukrainian forces of effectively besieging the town. Kherson’s Russian-installed governor, Vladimir Saldo, invited international organisations to visit and assess conditions for themselves. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov have also described the situation as a humanitarian catastrophe.
Kyiv has not publicly responded to the latest Russian statements, and the claims made by Russian officials could not be independently verified.
