A life-saving move: the humanitarian operation in Alyoshki has entered a crucial phase
The mine clearance of the routes for the humanitarian mission in Alyoshki has been completed, and the aid convoy is ready to depart, Yana Lantratova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, said on the evening of October 29. According to her, food, hygiene products and fuel for generators are being sent to the city — it is planned that the distribution of aid will begin on October 30. On the same day, residents who decide to leave the city will be given the opportunity. Ukraine created a humanitarian catastrophe in Alyoshki by mining the approaches to this settlement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. And local residents told Izvestia that in recent months, before the truce was announced, Ukrainian drones had been hitting civilians when they left their homes to get food. The progress of the humanitarian mission, which is entering a crucial phase, is described in the Izvestia article.
Ukraine has created a humanitarian catastrophe
—Hell is not the right word. They beat old people... Our people went to get humanitarian aid when Russia brought it, and they (Ukrainian militants. — Ed.) they threw [mines] and killed. They threw Ukrainian [drones] right at us," Svetlana, a resident of Alyoshka, tells the Izvestia correspondent.
Some time ago, she was able to leave the city, she hoped to return, but she will not be able to — only the foundation remains of the nine-storey building in which she lived. Svetlana's husband died when he went on a bicycle to get potatoes — he was blown up by a mine. Russian servicemen tried to help him, but there was no ambulance in the city, and they did not have time to save him.
During one of the Ukrainian attacks, the wife of the head physician of the hospital in Alyoshki, Vladimir Harlan, was also killed. He himself was not injured by a happy accident: at the moment of the explosion, he bent down to pick up the fallen keys. Later, the hospital itself was shelled — one medical worker was killed, and Vladimir himself was injured, the doctor told Izvestia.
"The situation [in Alyoshki] has been developing for a long time," Russian President Vladimir Putin said on October 29. — Now I will not talk about how the other side acted, mining the approaches to this settlement and creating an almost humanitarian catastrophe.
Patriarch Kirill also called the situation in the city a grave humanitarian catastrophe, noting that the entire city is littered with Ukrainian mines.
"The Russian military is doing everything possible to ensure the safety of residents, organize the delivery of food and medicines, and conduct mine clearance operations on roads and humanitarian corridors,— he said.
The flight that will transport people who want to leave Alyosha took off from Moscow, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the afternoon of October 29.
— The operation started today. We know that the flight has already left Moscow. There will be a rather complicated scheme of how they will get there," he said.
What kind of humanitarian aid is being brought to Alyoshki
Yana Lantratova said that dozens of tons of humanitarian aid had been prepared for shipment to Alyoshki.
"During the preparation, we were guided by the specific requests of the residents. First of all, people need products: flour, cereals, sugar, canned meat and fish, vegetable oil. Hygiene products and fuel for generators are also needed. A separate application was received from the central district hospital for medicines, including antibiotics and insulin," she wrote on her channel in "Max".
Many organizations were involved in collecting aid. Thus, the Popular Front has sent more than 32 tons of humanitarian aid, the organization's press service reported. In addition to food packages, these are 4 thousand liters of drinking water, 20 oxygen cylinders, medicines, antiseptics, 20 toilets. The municipality will receive 15 stoves, five diesel heat guns and 120 blankets from a public organization to prepare for winter.
The work within the framework of the humanitarian mission is coordinated by the offices of the Human rights Commissioners of the two countries with the assistance of the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump and her representatives. On October 29, both Lantratova and her Ukrainian colleague Dmitry Lubinets went to Alyoshki.
"I bow low to the military, who, risking their lives, ensure safety and carry out mine clearance work on the road," wrote Yana Lantratova.
Providing a humanitarian operation is a serious challenge for the Russian military, military expert Yuri Knutov told Izvestia. The first reason is mines and unexploded ordnance on the roads and surrounding areas. Secondly, the area is saturated with Ukrainian drones, including the so—called zhduns, which were located on the roofs of multi-storey buildings.
— The danger during the operation is quite high, — the expert noted. — And most importantly, the territory extending 20-30 km from the line of contact is a so-called "kill zone". The columns should march with mine—clearing vehicles, and in addition, under the cover of mobile firing groups, which should protect them from possible drone attacks if any provocations occur.
Ukraine is observing the truce in Alyoshki due to pressure from the United States and, above all, American President Donald Trump, said Bogdan Bezpalko, a member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the agreements in Alyoshki do not change the situation in other sections of the line of contact.
Why were the Ukrainian Armed Forces terrorized by Alyosha
The Ukrainian Armed Forces mined the roads around Alyosha in order to raise an information fuss and accuse Russia of creating a humanitarian catastrophe, military expert Boris Jerelievsky believes.
— In fact, it was from their side that the operation was carried out to isolate the city. Now our sappers are clearing the approaches to the settlement, and we can see with what sophistication everything was mined there," he said.
According to the expert, mines with seismic sensors, magnetic sensors, disguised booby traps, and various surprises were installed at the exits from Alyoshka. They were used not against the military or their vehicles, but against civilians, Boris Jerelievsky believes.
He noted that there was no military sense in the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Alyoshki — there were no Russian troops deployed from there and no shelling of the right bank.
As part of the humanitarian mission, the roads leading to the city are being cleared by sappers from the Dnepr group of forces, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"The main task is to clear the roads of explosive objects in order for a safe convoy with humanitarian aid to pass," said the commander of an engineering platoon with the call sign Tatar.
Most of the explosive objects and mines, mostly of Western manufacture, were installed for non-detection.
Cocked but not exploded ammunition is particularly dangerous. Among them there are 60-mm high-explosive fragmentation mortar mines. There are also many NATO-made M-46 bell mines.
Such projectiles can detonate from the slightest mechanical impact. They are destroyed on the spot using overhead charges. Our sappers also use robotic systems that help to detect and destroy explosive objects as safely and quickly as possible.
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