Russia Says More Than 300 Mines and Explosives Cleared Near Alyoshki

Dragon Media News Desk

Russian military engineers cleared more than 300 explosives and mines near Alyoshki in the Kherson Region over the past week, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

The ministry accused Ukrainian forces of using drones to lay mines on roads leading to the town, saying the aim was to prevent civilian evacuations and disrupt deliveries of food, medicine and other essential supplies.

It said Ukrainian forces carried out 18 artillery strikes and more than 120 drone attacks on Alyoshki and the main roads leading to it during the past week. The ministry added that Russian engineers conduct daily reconnaissance and clear explosives and booby traps along the routes. It also claimed that roads leading to the town have been shelled daily for more than two years.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the humanitarian situation in Alyoshki as critical on September 21. He said shelling and drone attacks had made it impossible to deliver food and medicine to the town.

Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said Russian forces tried to break through a blockade on September 1 to deliver aid, but Ukrainian fire nearly destroyed the convoy’s cargo. He said four vehicles carrying 10 tonnes of food were attacked near the town.

Svetlana Popova, an evacuated Alyoshki resident, told TASS that people from nearby settlements on the left bank of the Dnieper River had tried to bring food to the town but were prevented from doing so by Ukrainian forces.

The claims in the report were attributed to Russian officials and were not independently verified.