‘Escape or starve’: Ukrainian dad recalls son rationing scraps of candy ahead of Oleshky evacuation

The Correspondent with Caitlin Doornbos · Oct 29, 2026 · 15m

KYIV — Just one month ago, 55-year-old Valery faced an impossible choice: risk his family’s lives on the mine-laden route out of Oleshky, Ukraine — or starve to death.

The husband and father, whose last name The Correspondent is omitting for his safety, had waited for an evacuation agreement, stretching supplies of canned vegetables, fish, meat and grains.

But eventually, his family had about a month’s worth of food left — and little confidence anyone was coming to rescue them.

While some resorted to eating grass, he recalled his son slicing a small, leftover candy into three pieces to savor…