Изображение: БелТА
(updated: headline clarified) A Ukrainian delegation and American journalists passed through the Belarusian Novaya Huta border checkpoint on the border with Ukraine. The trip is connected with a humanitarian operation in Oleshky.
Initially, the Belarusian state news agency BelTA reported that a plane carrying “representatives of Russia who are taking part in a humanitarian operation in Oleshky, in the Kherson direction” had arrived at Homiel Airport.
A subsequent report said that a Ukrainian delegation headed by Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets had arrived at Novaya Huta. It noted that Ukrainian representatives were also “taking part in a humanitarian operation in the city of Oleshky, in the Kherson direction.”
Yesterday, Lubinets wrote on his Telegram channel that he was continuing preparations for a humanitarian mission to assist Oleshky’s civilian population together with his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova.
“The Russian side, the Ukrainian side and the American journalists are all setting off from Belarus. It is known that four American journalists will cover the entire route and document what happens. Melania Trump calls them independent observers. Four journalists from Newsmax, representatives of this media outlet, and it was American media that first reported on the eve of the direct involvement of the Belarusian side in this humanitarian mission,” the state television channel First Information reported.
“Today, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, traveled to Homiel by road. The American journalists were with him,” a correspondent at the scene added.
It should be recalled that the Novaya Huta checkpoint is regularly used for exchanges between Russia and Ukraine involving prisoners of war, displaced persons and the bodies of fallen servicemen, as well as meetings between the Ukrainian and Russian human rights commissioners.
BelTA has repeatedly emphasized Belarus’s role in the operation in Oleshky.
“Belarus has joined the humanitarian operation in the frontline city of Oleshky, in the Kherson direction. Minsk is a participant in the international process. The Belarusian side has created all the necessary conditions for the first in-person contacts between representatives of Moscow and Kyiv, is providing the necessary comprehensive assistance and is also acting as a guarantor of these processes. Participation in this process is a continuation of Belarus’s consistent peace-oriented policy and its unwavering commitment to peacekeeping,” the agency said in its reports.
Ukraine and Russia are observing a ceasefire in the area around Oleshky, located on the left bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region. The settlement is occupied by Russian forces. In recent months, fighting has effectively cut it off. The city is facing a severe humanitarian crisis. With the participation of international mediators, the parties agreed to a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered and civilians to be evacuated.