Only just over 1,000 people, including more than 100 children, remain in the town of Oleshky, Ukraine, out of a pre-war population of 20,000.

Omissions

• The pre-war population of Oleshky is consistently reported as around 24,000 (Reuters, BBC, RFE/RL), not the 20,000 stated in the claim.
• The remaining-population figure varies widely by source and scope: around 1,700 residents (UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, via Reuters), fewer than 2,000 (RFE/RL), up to 3,000-4,000 (ISW), and some 6,000 for the town and surrounding areas (Ukrainian government estimate, via BBC). The claim's 'just over 1,000' is at/below the low end of all these estimates.
• The number of children also differs by source: 47 (UN), around 50 (RFE/RL) and 200 (Ukrainian government, wider area) — so the claim's 'more than 100 children' is above the UN/RFE/RL figures and below the Ukrainian government figure.
• The Reuters and France 24 reports were published on 2026-10-08, three days after the session date, so the MEP could not have known them directly, although they describe the contemporaneous situation in early October 2026.
• No source found states a remaining population of around 1,000; all independent estimates exceed the claimed figure.

Sources

• SecondaryReutersOleshky in Ukraine's Kherson region, with a pre-war population of some 24,000, is still home to around 1,700 residents, including 47 children, according to Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
• SecondaryRFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)Once home to around 24,000 people, Oleshky's population has dwindled... a spokesperson for the Ukrainian civic organization Humanity... said fewer than 2,000 people remained in Oleshky by the end of September, including around 50 children.
• SecondaryBBC NewsOleshky was home to 24,000 people before Russia's full-scale invasion. Now the Ukrainian government estimates that some 6,000 people remain in the city and its surrounding areas, including 200 children.
• SecondaryInstitute for the Study of War (ISW)Oleshky's occupation leadership fled the town for Skadovsk in March, abandoning and isolating local residents... the roads out of Oleshky have become so dangerous... that egress from the town is effectively impossible. Up to three to four thousand [residents remain]... Residents reported hunting for food and noted that there were cases of deaths due to starvation, freezing, or lack of medical care as of March 2026.
• SecondaryFrance 24Trapped and facing starvation, residents of the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine risk their lives to travel for hours by foot and bicycle along mine-strewn roads to get food and water. The town near the Ukrainian city of Kherson on the war's southern front has been under Russian control since 2022. Since May, food deliveries have dried up.