Russian and Ukrainian delegations fly into Homel for humanitarian mission in Aleshki

A plane carrying the Russian delegation taking part in the humanitarian operation in Aleshki, in the Kherson direction, has landed at Homel airport. The airport became the starting point of its route. At the same time, the Ukrainian delegation, led by the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, arrived at the Novaya Huta checkpoint in the Homel district.

A plane with the Ukrainian delegation then took off from Homel airport. According to Belarusian state media, it is heading to Russia as part of a humanitarian mission connected with the situation in Aleshki.

A ceasefire is in effect in Aleshki from 04:00 Moscow time on 27 October until 22:59 on 1 November, and the mission is taking place within it, the newspaper Vedomosti reported.

Belarusian state media report that Belarus has joined the operation and will become the starting point of a large international process. According to them, the country has already begun to fulfil its part of the obligations under previously reached agreements.

According to official Minsk, the Belarusian side has created all the conditions for the first face-to-face contacts between representatives of Moscow and Kyiv, is providing comprehensive assistance and acts as a guarantor of these processes. The same sources describe the participation as a continuation of Belarus's peaceful policy. This is the authorities' own assessment, and the guarantor role in these reports has not been confirmed by either Moscow or Kyiv.

The official channel of a Belarusian state body clarifies that the plane with Russian representatives arrived as part of the coordination of the mission.

The Novaya Huta checkpoint has hosted humanitarian processes before: exchanges of prisoners of war and of the bodies of fallen servicemen took place there, and civilians of Russia and Ukraine were reunited. In February 2022, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry confirmed the arrival of a Russian delegation in Homel for talks with Ukraine.

According to Belarusian state media, Russia and Ukraine, with US mediation, primarily by the wife of the American leader, Melania Trump, agreed to a ceasefire in the area of the town. Pro-Russian outlets report the same: according to them, the regime of silence will last until the end of this week.

Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov announced a regime of silence for the duration of the mission and the organisation of the evacuation of the population. The Russian side claims that the agreements are being fully observed, and that Ukrainian forces, in its words, confirmed the ceasefire at the same time as the Russian ones.

The Russian side also claims that the Armed Forces of Ukraine previously struck social infrastructure facilities, markets, aid distribution points and the district hospital, which made it impossible to evacuate the seriously ill and wounded. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov called the situation in the town critical.

Aleshki is located on the left bank of the Dnipro, 5 km from Kherson, near the front line, and has been regularly shelled in recent years. According to Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova, on the first day of the mission the roads for delivering aid were cleared of mines.

A large convoy with food, medicines and other goods has been prepared for the residents. The list, as reported, was compiled from the requests of the residents themselves: food, medicines, hygiene products, fuel and heating materials.

The Ukrainian outlet Fakty writes that Ukrainian military personnel from the "South" group used drones to deliver about 4 tonnes of aid to residents of Aleshki, which the outlet describes as temporarily occupied.

The International Red Cross has drawn attention to the situation in the town. In mid-October, Pope Leo XIV called on the parties to agree a truce so that food and medicines could be delivered and those who wish to leave could be evacuated safely. On 23 October, the White House said that First Lady Melania Trump had helped bring about the ceasefire agreements.