They keep quiet: how is the ceasefire regime observed in the Alyoshek area?

The humanitarian operation in Alyoshki itself will take place "in a few days," and Russia expects it to take place without provocations, Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on October 28. But in the first two days, only Russian engineering groups operated in the truce zone — they defused mines and unexploded shells on the roads along which convoys would travel with help for residents of the city. No violations of the ceasefire regime were recorded in the first 30 hours of the silence regime, said Yana Lantratova, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation. The importance of the success of the humanitarian mission in Alyoshki for future trilateral negotiations on the settlement of the conflict is described in the Izvestia article.

The silence regime is observed by both sides.

During the first 30 hours of the silence regime in Alyoshki, no violations were recorded, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Yana Lantratova, reported on October 28. She expressed special gratitude to the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump and her team for their difficult coordination work and personal participation in the mission. Trump herself said the day before that after the first day, the silence regime was expanded beyond the city limits.

"The humanitarian operation itself will take place tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and in a few days," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on October 28. — Let's hope that it will be safe, that there will be no provocations. The main thing is that as a result, those residents of Alyosha who want to leave this settlement will be able to do so.

Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said that Russian engineering units are currently preparing a humanitarian mission. We are talking about the destruction of mines and unexploded shells along the route of the columns.

—The Ukrainian Armed Forces mostly threw mines with drones," military expert Boris Jerelievsky told Izvestia. — The difficulty of mine clearance is that mines that are used with drones are constantly changing. Sometimes it's homemade, sometimes it's new developments. There are mines that react to the heat of the human body, there are mines that react to seismic shocks, that is, to footsteps. These are very insidious mines. And apparently, there are a lot of them.

Unexploded shells are particularly dangerous, because it is unclear at what point they can go off, the expert added.

— If possible, they are destroyed with overhead charges, without touching or moving them from their place. If for some reason it is impossible to do this, for example, the projectile is located in a residential building, the sappers have to carry out very dangerous and serious work to neutralize it," Boris Jerelievsky explained.

The Russian side is interested in successfully implementing this project, said Rodion Miroshnik.

— We act in the interests of those people who are in Alyosha. We are trying to provide them with humanitarian assistance and ensure the evacuation of those who wish to leave this territory," he said.

Peaceful separation: how the humanitarian operation in Alyoshki began

On the first day of the local truce, the silence regime was not violated, and roads to the city are being cleared.

Positive background on the eve of the negotiations

Coordination is underway through the Ombudsmen of Russia and Ukraine, and representatives of the United States are involved in this process and play an active role in it, Miroshnik said. According to him, Ukraine also bears responsibility for violations that may occur to the American side.

There have been no humanitarian agreements of this level between the Russian Federation and Ukraine for a long time, so the successful completion of the operation in Alyoshki will create a positive background for the resumption of trilateral negotiations between Moscow, Kiev and Washington, Nikolai Toropnin, director of the Center for European Information, said in a conversation with Izvestia. A new round may take place after November 4th. In addition, the local truce in Alyoshki can become an example and the basis for subsequent humanitarian operations, says Denis Denisov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, experts recalled that the humanitarian and political tracks between the Russian Federation and Ukraine run parallel to each other, so one should not expect automatic progress in the peace process. Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov had previously stressed that the first round in Abu Dhabi would be a "target practice" meeting, so serious breakthroughs should not be expected at this stage.

Chopping Nuts: Russian troops increase pressure on the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Zaporozhye

How logistics disruption and problems with reserves complicate the situation of the Ukrainian garrison

Fighting continues in other areas.

While Russian units in Alyoshki and the surrounding area observe a regime of silence, fighting continues in other areas of the army. As reported on October 28 in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, units of the Dnepr group of forces improved their position on the front line. They defeated the formations of the mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the air defense brigade near Orekhov and Preobrazhenka in the Zaporizhia region. Up to 20 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, five vehicles and an electronic warfare station were destroyed.

— A silence regime is observed in the Kherson direction until November 1. Fighting is going on in other places, and it's quite hot in the Zaporizhia area right now," military expert Vasily Dandykin told Izvestia. — Everything is moving towards encircling the group in Orekhovo and eliminating it. This is the largest defense hub in front of Zaporizhia.

The expert noted that previously the Ukrainian side constantly violated the truce agreements, but now there are no violations on their part. This can be explained by the participation of the American side, as well as the expectation of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi in November.