Moscow wants to use Oleshko to pressure Zelensky: what is Russia planning?
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Russia is trying to involve US First Lady Melania Trump in the campaign around the occupied Oleshki in the Kherson region, promoting the version of the alleged “Ukrainian blockade” of the city. Moscow may use the humanitarian situation in the occupied territory as an additional tool for pressure on Kyiv through the Donald Trump administration.
This was stated by the head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, Petro Andryuschenko.
According to him, after the warming of relations between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, Moscow is trying to use the political moment to advance its own interests. One of the areas has been the situation in Oleshki, where the Russian side is trying to present Ukraine as guilty of humanitarian problems.
Russian Ombudsman Yana Lantratova, together with Russian diplomats, is trying to involve Melania Trump in resolving the situation and organizing humanitarian convoys. The issue of Oleshok was discussed by Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin during a telephone conversation on October 9. According to the Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, Lantratova should be in constant contact with the US First Lady’s office. The very next day, the Ombudsman said that Melania Trump’s team “showed readiness.”
Andryuschenko warns that Moscow is trying to turn the humanitarian catastrophe in the territory it occupies into a means of political influence on Ukraine.
“And Russia’s responsibility is simply being sidelined. And here the danger is quite real,” he emphasized.
According to Andryuschenko, such a campaign could give Trump another reason to put pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the same time, supporters of the American MAGA movement could use this story to spread accusations against Kyiv.
“Trump gets another argument to put pressure on Zelensky. MAGA bloggers – another story about “Ukraine blocking aid,” Andryuschenko noted.
He points out that the Russian version of events almost never mentions the responsibility of the occupation authorities for the situation of civilians. Instead, they try to focus attention on the accusations against Ukraine.
“Not the occupation. Not the lack of safe access for the UN. Not over six thousand Ukrainian people, including about 200 children. No Russian guilt — only the ‘Ukrainian blockade,’” Andryuschenko wrote.
In his opinion, Ukraine needs to counter this information campaign before the Russian version takes hold in the American information space. Otherwise, the humanitarian situation in occupied Oleshki can be used to increase political pressure on Kyiv.
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