The operation was to establish a buffer zone devoid of people and settlements to a width of 40 km between Drissa in the South Zilupe and Smolnya in the North, covering the area of Asveya — Drysa — Polotsk — Sebezh — Rasony (Belarus, Russia).

Younger and stronger people were sent to the station of Bigosovo, where they were loaded into wagons and taken to the Salaspils camp and work in Latvia and Germany.

Surviving witness Valentin Martsinkevich, who was ten years old at the time of the atrocity, recalled: We gathered and were led along the road.

According to controversial Russian historian Alexander Dyukov, during this operation 221 partisans and about 3,900 local inhabitants were killed, over 7,000 were deported for forced labor or imprisoned to Salaspils concentration camp, 439 villages were burnt down or 70 partisans and about 10-12 thousands of local inhabitants were killed, including women and children and a "dead zone" to a width of 15 km was established.

In February 2008, in the Verkhnedvinsk district house of culture held a literary-musical composition "St. Aswe Complaints" with poems by Belarusian poets and memories shared by witnesses.

In the village Osveya near the mound of Immortality a meeting of war veterans, youth, and the public was held, which was addressed by politicians, priest, and former young prisoners of Salaspils.

The operation was supervised by the Higher SS and Police Leader of the Baltic region SS-Obergruppenführer Friedrich Jeckeln.

Original German units and Ukrainian police battalion were not included in the composition of combat groups, serving as reserve command.

During the operation, new formation were added: The total number of Einsatzkommando of the security police and the SD were 210 people.