The Kremlin on Friday demanded that the United States and the main European countries intervene with the Ukrainian authorities so as to back a humanitarian ceasefire in Kostantínovka, in the Donetsk region. The proposal is in line with the approach put forward the day before by Russian President Vladimir Putin, taking as a reference the scheme recently applied in Oleshki.
"We call on Americans and Europeans, who, if the assertions that they are seeking peace are true, should also use their influence to influence the Ukrainians and encourage them to carry out this humanitarian operation in Kostantínovka," Dimitri Peskov, spokesman for the Russian Presidency, appealed.
The Kremlin representative dismissed arguments coming from Kiev that claim that a possible pause in fighting would serve to reorganize military units and reinforce their positions at the front. "The claim that it will be used to transport armored vehicles does not withstand any critical analysis because this is visible with satellites, drones and other surveillance equipment," he said.
According to Peskov, the purpose of the initiative is strictly humanitarian. "Its objective is to allow the 400 or 500 civilians who still remain in Kostantínovka to leave that settlement and go wherever they wish," he explained, consistent with the proposal that Putin presented the day before during his meeting with the special envoys of the United States, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The plan provides that civilians who choose to do so can move both toward Russian territory and toward areas controlled by Ukraine. To that end, Peskov emphasized, it is essential to carry out in advance tasks of demining and clearing on roads and paths in the surrounding area, which are currently seeded with explosive devices.
Along these lines, the spokesman assured that, on the Russian side, there is willingness to begin the work immediately in areas under its control, in accordance with the information released by the Interfax news agency.
The Oleshki precedent
Putin’s proposal replicates the model promoted by the first lady, Melania Trump, for the town of Oleshki, in the Kherson province, whose access routes had been mined and without supply since the end of May of this year.
In that case, Kyiv and Moscow agreed a three-day ceasefire that allowed, on October 30, the development of a humanitarian operation in Oleshki—under Russian occupation since 2022—during which several dozen tons of aid were distributed and the evacuation of those who wanted to leave was organized, both to Ukraine and to Russia.
Unlike Oleshki, Kostantínovka has become one of the main combat scenarios in eastern Ukraine. Although Moscow claims it has the city under control—much of it reduced to rubble— it remains subject to an intense direct siege by Russian forces.
The current situation in both localities presents nuances that could complicate the application of the same pattern in Kostantínovka. There, a mass evacuation has already taken place in advance and the front line remains active, so a pause could be interpreted by the parties as an opportunity to resupply and reinforce military positions.
Total control of Kostantínovka would open for Russia a direct corridor toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the last major strongholds that Ukraine still holds in the province of Donetsk, which is already widely occupied by Russian forces.