Only natural deaths allowed to be buried in occupied Oleshky, bodies of those killed being taken away

Tetiana Hasanenko, head of the Oleshky City Military Administration, told Ukrinform that relatives often do not even receive information about where their loved ones are later buried.

"Things reached the point where a specific smell of decomposing bodies started coming from one of the hospital buildings in Oleshky, which is not intended for storing the bodies of the deceased and the killed. Therefore, a requirement appeared to transport to Kalanchak only the bodies of people who were killed by shelling or exploded on a mine. The occupiers explain this by saying they are documenting 'crimes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.' But there are bodies that were taken to Kalanchak three months ago, and even four months ago, and they were never returned to relatives. In other words, it is a one-way trip even for a body," Hasanenko said.

She also described a case of a mother whose son was killed and whose body was taken away.

"She was going through this extremely hard, waiting so much for her son's body. And she was told that he was buried somewhere – either in Dobropillia or Dobrosillia. It is unclear which community exactly," Hasanenko added.

According to her, the man's body remained unburied from December until May, after which he was buried somewhere unknown.

Hasanenko noted that those who manage to receive information about where their relatives were buried are considered lucky.

As for those who die of natural causes, burial permits are issued by the local hospital. After that, the body is transported – often by handcart, since there is no public transport in the city – by two people to the cemetery, where graves have been dug since autumn.

Regarding the hospital, Hasanenko said that only a few local doctors are still working there, mostly elderly people. According to her, it is already considered fortunate that patients admitted to inpatient care receive at least some food, as supplies of medicine and food to the blockaded city are limited.

Photo: Dmytro Lubinets / Telegram