Peaceful separation: how the humanitarian operation in Alyoshki began
The humanitarian operation in Alyoshki will last until 22:59 on November 1, said the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Yana Lantratova. Her first day began with the clearance of roads leading to the city by Russian military personnel. Car convoys with help should move next. The main objective of the mission is to deliver medicines, food and hygiene products to civilians. It is also planned to organize a voluntary evacuation of those who decide to leave the city. Experts do not rule out that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will resort to provocations to disrupt the truce. However, the silence regime was observed on the first day. At the same time, the successful completion of the operation in Alyoshki will create a positive background for the resumption of trilateral negotiations between Moscow, Kiev and Washington.
Minefields will be cleared in Alyoshki
The Russian army stopped firing and imposed a regime of silence in the Alyoshek area in the Kherson direction at 4 a.m. on October 27 — this was done in preparation for a humanitarian operation in the city, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The agreement on its holding was reached through the mediation of the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump.
The day before, the Russian military department reported that units of the Dnepr group of forces conduct daily engineering reconnaissance and cleaning of the main access routes to Alyoshka from explosive objects and booby traps. However, there is still a lot of work for the sappers.
"Currently, active work is underway to prepare for a humanitarian operation, that is, to create a humanitarian corridor," said Rodion Miroshnik, Ambassador—at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry. — For the last month and a half, the roads have been blocked and there has been no traffic due to drones dropping mines and explosive devices. There were a lot of unexploded shells and mines left after the shelling. All this must be cleared by our sappers to ensure the safe passage of our convoys, which will contain humanitarian supplies and ambulances for civilians.
Until 2022, about 26 thousand people lived in Alyoshki. According to Rodion Miroshnik, about 1.3 thousand residents remain in the city now.
— It is difficult to give more accurate data, because even during the blockade, people left the dangerous territory on foot or on bicycles. As part of the humanitarian operation, the figures for people will be updated," the diplomat said.
There have been no reports of violations of the ceasefire regime for the humanitarian operation in Alyoshki that began on Tuesday, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Humanitarian convoys and evacuation of civilians
Washington acted as the main mediator of the humanitarian truce in Alyoshki. The White House said that Melania Trump had engaged an independent American media organization to accompany and document the actions of the parties in Alyoshki during the ceasefire.
It is planned that civilian representatives of the Russian Federation and Ukraine will visit the residents of Alyosha at home to assess their needs, and those wishing to leave will be provided with transport and escort.
The whole process will be coordinated by the Ombudsmen of Russia and Ukraine. According to the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Yana Lantratova, the main task of the mission is to find out the needs of people, form a convoy and deliver medicines, food and hygiene products.
— And, of course, another task is to ensure the departure of people who, I emphasize, will voluntarily make such a decision. There are not many people in Alyosha who have expressed a desire to leave. Since everyone who wanted to, basically already left there completely voluntarily. And the remaining group of people will be given this opportunity," Lantratova said.
Open direct lines deployed through the Human Rights House have become the main headquarters for collecting data on those in need of assistance or evacuation, Rodion Miroshnik explained to Izvestia.
The building of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva
The humanitarian truce initiative was actively supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). He confirmed contact with both sides and expressed his full readiness to provide practical support. The UN also welcomed the initiative with optimism. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, through his representative Stephane Dujarric, welcomed the silence, expressing the hope that it would become a measure of trust for further dialogue.
At the same time, the Kremlin reported that on October 27, Vladimir Putin told Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gara Stera about the start of the humanitarian operation, with whom he spoke by phone. During the conversation, the leaders also discussed the imminent resumption of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.
Can we expect provocations from the Ukrainian Armed Forces
During the ceasefire in Alyoshki, there may be provocations by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, military expert Alexei Leonkov did not rule out in an interview with Izvestia.
This is evidenced at least by the fact that, knowing about the difficult humanitarian situation, the armed formations of the Kiev regime over the past week, since October 19, have carried out 18 artillery and more than 120 UAV strikes on Alyoshki and the main roads to the city. Engineering units of the Russian Dnepr group have defused more than 300 explosive objects and mines over the same period, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
— There were quite a lot of silence modes during the special military operation. Even before that, humanitarian ceasefires were in effect, including during the period of the Minsk agreements. At the same time, the Ukrainian side did not comply with the agreements every time, denied its involvement in violations and found explanations for what happened," Alexey Leonkov said.
According to him, the Ukrainian side can also use the pause to transfer units to this sector of the front and replenish ammunition stocks.
After the end of the truce, the shelling of Alyosha is highly likely to resume, military experts say. Therefore, the ceasefire period should be used as much as possible to solve humanitarian problems.
— Now the Ukrainian army does not arrange provocations, because it adheres to the promise that Melania Trump is supposed to have made. But after the end of the humanitarian truce, they may start attacking Alyosha and mining the roads leading to the city again," said military expert Viktor Litovkin.
He explained that the geographical location of the city complicates the security situation. Alyoshki is located on the low left bank of the Dnieper River, while the right bank is higher. According to Litovkin, this allows the Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters to view the city from the opposite shore not only with the help of drones, but also with simple optical devices.
At the same time, the amount of aid that will be delivered to Alyoshki during the humanitarian mission is unlikely to be enough to provide the population with everything they need for a long time, especially with the approach of winter, the expert believes.
— People need to heat their houses, harvest firewood, and resolve food issues. Therefore, those who remain in Alyoshki need to assess the risks and think about the possibility of evacuation," Viktor Litovkin concluded.
However, even though cooperation on humanitarian and political issues runs in parallel and does not actually touch in any way, the successful completion of the operation in Alyoshki will create a positive background for the resumption of trilateral negotiations between Moscow, Kiev and Washington. Their new round may take place after November 4th.
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