The key facts
- The silence regime was in effect from October 27, 04:00 to November 1, 23:59
- Documents in Russian and Ukrainian were signed in Gomel
- Russian sapper Andrei Vedernikov was killed while demining the route
The mission has officially concluded
The humanitarian mission in Alyoshky, Kherson region, officially ended on the night of November 2. As reported at a press conference by Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova, the humanitarian pause began on October 27 at 04:00 and ended on November 1 at 23:59 — these timeframes were fixed in the agreements between the parties. According to the ombudswoman, the silence regime made it possible to deliver aid to civilians and organize their evacuation.
Agreements in Gomel
The final stage of negotiations took place in Gomel, Belarus, where Lantratova met with Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets. The parties signed documents in Russian and Ukrainian, defining the procedure for conducting the mission. «We clearly signed all stages of the humanitarian mission», the Russian ombudswoman emphasized. As Life.ru reported, after the in-person meeting the delegations of the two countries departed for the mission on the same plane, exchanging handshakes before takeoff; the United States and Belarus also took part in organizing the operation.
The most difficult part of the operation and casualties during preparation
Lantratova called ensuring the silence regime the most difficult part of the operation: it was needed not only for delivering cargo and evacuation, but also for preliminary demining of the roads along which the convoy was to pass. The preparation of the route did not come without casualties: Life.ru wrote about the death of Russian sapper Andrei Vedernikov, who on October 28 was clearing the road for the humanitarian convoy. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the serviceman received a fatal wound in the explosion of a device, presumably planted with the help of a Ukrainian drone. Despite this, the work continued, and on October 29 Lantratova announced the completion of demining.
More details about the course of the operation
Life.ru has collected reports from the scene, stories of evacuees, and details of the negotiations in a special section «Humanitarian Operation in Alyoshky». The outlet separately asked the president's press secretary whether there would be new humanitarian operations after Alyoshky; no conclusions on this are given in this publication.
