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On Tuesday night, a ceasefire began to operate in Aleshki in the occupied part of the Kherson region, the situation in which both the Ukrainian and Russian sides assess as bordering on a humanitarian catastrophe. How is the situation that the wife of the US President drew attention to unique from a military point of view?
At night, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a ceasefire “in the Kherson direction” from 4:00 Tuesday in connection with preparations for a humanitarian operation in the area of the city of Aleshki.
“The regime of silence has begun, the Ukrainian side is fulfilling its agreements,” confirmed Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets.
The initiator of the ceasefire in Aleshki (Ukrainian version - Oleshki) was the wife of the US President Melania Trump.
“This is a front-line city on the brink of disaster. Among the remaining residents are mostly elderly people who are in dire need of medical care, medicine, food and clean water, the US first lady said in a statement. “Residents of Aleshki experience a lack of electricity, live among mined roads and are constantly exposed to military attacks.”
City in the kill zone
After the retreat of the Russian army in 2022 from the right bank of the Dnieper, the front line in the Kherson direction became relatively stabilized: Ukrainian and Russian positions were separated by the river. The destruction of the bridges made large transfers of troops impossible, and a protracted confrontation began.
Alyoshki remained under Russian control, approximately 4-5 km opposite liberated Kherson. Even then, roads and settlements adjacent to the Dnieper began to be attacked by drones and artillery. Ukrainian units studied Russian defenses and tried to gain a foothold in certain areas of the left bank. Subsequent hostilities took place in several stages.
Summer 2023: flooding and raids on the left bank
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After the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station on June 6, water flooded a significant part of Aleshki and the surrounding area. People fled to the rooftops; there were deaths, communications, electricity and supplies were disrupted. The flood also affected military positions; some Russian units were forced to retreat from flooded areas.
At the same time, Ukrainian forces began conducting raids in the area of dachas near the destroyed Antonovsky Bridge and Cossack Camps northeast of Aleshki. During the summer, reports appeared about the consolidation of Ukrainian groups in certain areas of the left bank. These were local operations, not advances on a broad front.
October 2023 - July 2024: battles for Krynki
This was the most intense stage of ground fighting on the left bank. Ukrainian marines crossed the Dnieper and tried to create a bridgehead in several places. The main area was the village of Krynki - about 25 km east of Aleshki.
Russian troops carried out artillery strikes, used aviation and glide bombs, and attacked positions and crossing routes. Ukrainian units had difficulty delivering ammunition, food, reinforcements and evacuating the wounded across the river.
But the Russian army also experienced serious difficulties associated with the more advantageous location of Ukrainian firing positions on the high right bank of the Dnieper, and suffered heavy losses in multiple assaults.
The bridgehead did not turn into a breakthrough into the depths of the Russian defense. In the winter and spring of 2024, his situation worsened, Ukrainian units began to gradually withdraw. By the summer, Krynki was almost completely destroyed, and in July the Ukrainian military confirmed that the main positions in the village had been lost or destroyed. At the same time, individual actions on the islands and other parts of the left bank continued.
2025 - autumn 2026: drone war and city isolation
After the completion of the main phase of the battles for Krynki, the front line in the Aleshek region did not change. The city remained a Russian stronghold right next to the line of contact, while Ukrainian positions remained on the opposite bank and on individual islands.
The location of a settlement almost at the junction of the positions of the warring parties means that in fact it is located in a kill zone.
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A kill zone is a territory in modern warfare in which any manpower or equipment is very likely to be attacked by enemy fire.
In the context of the war in Ukraine, kill zones are strips from 15 to 20 kilometers deep from the front line, and in some areas up to 50 km, especially for logistics equipment.
The reason for the emergence of kill zones was the massive use of attack and reconnaissance drones, constant video surveillance from the air and dense artillery fire. There is no longer a traditional clear front line.
Vehicles can no longer safely drive close to positions. Soldiers move most often on foot, mainly only in bad weather (fog, rain) or at dusk. Being in open areas during the day is deadly.
For logistics in kill zones - delivery of water, food, ammunition, fuel, generators and evacuation of the wounded - aerial drones and ground robotic systems are increasingly being used.
Due to the constant threat of drones, shelling and the danger of traveling on roads, by the fall of 2026 Alyoshki found himself in humanitarian isolation.
Many houses are destroyed, the city is completely without electricity, water and gas. Food supplies have stopped, shops are closed, and there are about 2 thousand residents left in the city (out of 24 thousand before the war) who are literally starving.
All exits from the city are mined and attacked by drones, which made evacuation impossible for a long time.
It was the dire humanitarian situation that led to the agreement on a local ceasefire for the delivery of aid and preparations for evacuation. But this does not mean the end of fighting in the entire Kherson direction.
For the military, the entire front line along the Dnieper remains a zone of positional confrontation. Mutual shelling, bombing and drone strikes continue there.
And many settlements located in this zone are in the same dire situation as Alyoshki.
* The Russian authorities included Ilya Abishev in the register of “foreign agents”. The BBC strongly objects to this decision and is challenging it in court.
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