European Parliament Vice President Pina Picierno has announced a hunger strike to draw international attention to the humanitarian disaster in Russian-occupied Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast, she wrote on X on 20 October. The Italian lawmaker called on associations, citizens, and institutions to join her and demand a humanitarian truce, food and medicine for residents, and safe evacuation for those who want to leave.

Russia has occupied the left bank of the Dnipro in Kherson Oblast since 2022. Its forces have cut Oleshky off, leaving its remaining residents short of food and medicine, Ukrainian officials and UN monitors say. Oleshky had about 24,000 residents before the full-scale invasion. About 1,700 remain, including 47 children, Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, said. Picierno’s protest adds to growing international pressure after Pope Leo XIV asked Russian leader Vladimir Putin for a truce to help the town.

“This battle cannot be mine alone”

In Oleshky, thousands of people are trapped in territory occupied by the Russian army, without regular access to food and medicine, Picierno wrote. Mined areas make escape extremely dangerous, she added.

“Those who stay risk dying of hunger, those who try to leave risk their lives,” she wrote. “To draw international attention to this emergency, I have announced a hunger strike. But this battle cannot be mine alone.”

She said the campaign is meant to support the efforts of Pope Leo XIV and others trying to avert a humanitarian tragedy. By the morning of 21 October, 277 people had joined the initiative, Liga reported.

Picierno, who left Italy’s Democratic Party in June and joined the Renew Europe group, has backed military aid to Ukraine, tougher sanctions on Russia, and Ukraine’s bid to join the EU, according to Liga.

A town Kyiv calls a “death trap”

On 16 October, Pope Leo XIV expressed deep concern to Putin about the situation in Oleshky. He asked for a truce so that food and medical aid could be delivered and civilians could leave voluntarily and safely.

A day later, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to help evacuate residents.

“Russians are trying to turn the Ukrainian town of Oleshky into a death trap,” Sybiha wrote. “Dozens of bodies lie in the streets or in homes, as Russians forbid residents from burying them.”

Ukraine has flown tons of food into the town by drone. Russian troops seize some of the parcels and accuse the people who receive them of cooperating with Ukraine, local officials say. A resident said eggs there cost nearly 20 times the US price.

Evacuation talks “moved forward”

Talks with Russia on a ceasefire and evacuation are at the stage of “agreeing the final details,” Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on 18 October. He estimated that about 6,000 civilians, including up to 200 children, remain in Oleshky and six nearby settlements. He gave no timeline.

On 20 October, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was doing everything it could to help people in Oleshky, calling the situation there “simply terrible.”

Students and teachers in Athens and Thessaloniki demand affordable housing, higher wages and increased funding for public education.

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Students and teachers in Greece have mobilized in Athens and Thessaloniki to demand affordable housing, higher wages and greater investment in public education, joining a wave of youth-led protests over rising living costs and housing insecurity across Europe.

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Tents have been erected in Athens’ Syntagma Square and in Thessaloniki as demonstrators call for fair rents, more university housing and increased funding for public education.

Authorities deployed more than 3,000 police officers in Athens to monitor a demonstration scheduled for Wednesday, organized by students and teachers. The protests come amid similar mobilizations in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Albania, where young people are challenging housing costs that they say make it increasingly difficult to combine work or study with securing a home.

Students pitch tents near Greek parliament over rising costs

📍 Students set up tents in Athens’ Syntagma Square, near the Greek parliament

➡️ The protest highlights rising living costs and soaring rents in Greece https://t.co/oWWMU3xUax pic.twitter.com/N8YzeW9lZa

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) October 20, 2026

The Greek primary school teachers’ union, DOE, called a 24-hour strike to demand a 20% pay rise, housing assistance for teachers assigned to work in other cities and improvements to school facilities.

Around 20 student associations in Athens joined the mobilization, planning to march alongside teachers. Their demands include decent housing for all university students, particularly those from low-income families who move to other cities to pursue their studies, higher student allowances and more places in public university residences.

Students are also calling for lower electricity and heating fuel costs, highlighting the pressure of energy expenses alongside the cost of accommodation.

The demonstrations reflect broader grievances among young Europeans over housing affordability. Protesters across several countries have pointed to property speculation, tourism-driven pressures on housing and austerity policies imposed by the European Union as factors affecting their ability to secure a home.

Athens Mayor Haris Dukas, a social democrat, expressed support for students and teachers while making clear his opposition to violent protests.

The demonstrations add Greece to a broader wave of Generation Z mobilizations across Europe over housing costs, economic pressures and access to public services, with students and educators pressing for changes to living and working conditions.