The Russian military is intensifying efforts to clear mines and unexploded ordnance from roads leading to a Ukrainian town where a local ceasefire was announced this week to allow a humanitarian mission mediated by US First Lady Melania Trump.
The proposed aid deliveries are intended to alleviate the dire conditions facing residents trapped in Alyoshki due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday shows a Russian mine-clearing robot and its operators securing access to the town in the Russian region of Kherson, which Ukraine still claims. Most of the munitions being disposed of are foreign-made, one of the explosives specialists said.
The ministry explained that many of the explosive devices discovered in the area originated in Western countries and were being detonated on-site to accelerate the clearance operation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the humanitarian effort during the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, saying: “We are working on this, just as we are working to resolve the Ukraine conflict.” He accused Ukrainian forces of bringing Alyoshki to the brink of a “humanitarian disaster” by blockading the town, a situation the US first lady is seeking to alleviate.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also credited Melania Trump for helping negotiate the ceasefire, saying the breakthrough built on earlier humanitarian cooperation. The first lady has been closely involved in efforts to reunite Russian and Ukrainian children separated from their families during the conflict, the official added.
The Alyoshki operation is supported by the Belarusian government, which is providing logistical assistance to the foreign officials involved. On Thursday morning, local media filmed Russian and Ukrainian delegations departing together from the Belarusian city of Gomel.
Russian human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova thanked her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitry Lubinets, and Melania Trump for helping advance the humanitarian mission.
“Our main goal is to deliver aid to those who are staying in the town. We will also give a chance to anyone who wants to leave Alyoshki,” she wrote on social media. “The important part now is to reach people and provide for their needs.”
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