Oleshky
Oleshky (Ukrainian: Олешки) is a city in Kherson Raion, Kherson Oblast, southern Ukraine, located near the lower reaches of the Dnieper River.[1] First mentioned in historical records in 1084, it lay along ancient trade routes including the "From the Vikings to the Greeks" path and the Silk Road.[2] The settlement was renamed Tsiurupynsk in 1928 during the Soviet era and reverted to Oleshky in 2016.[3] With a 2022 population of 24,124, Oleshky serves as the administrative center of Oleshky urban hromada and is adjacent to the Oleshky Sands, Ukraine's largest sand expanse and Europe's second-largest, covering about 161 square kilometers of dunes formed from ancient Dnieper alluvium.[4] Since March 2022, the city has been occupied by Russian forces as part of the broader conflict in Kherson Oblast, with ongoing Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian military positions there.[5][6]