Kherson ceasefire ends as Russian strikes target energy grid

The quiet in Kherson is ending. On Sunday, the localized ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia concluded, marking the start of renewed hostilities in the southeastern region. The truce, which began on Tuesday, had provided a brief pause in the conflict four and a half years into the war. While the lull allowed for civilian evacuations, both sides have continued to strike targets outside the immediate zone.

The White House announced that First Lady Melania Trump helped broker the limited agreement. The pause in fighting enabled a joint operation to move civilians out of the besieged front-line city of Oleshky. Approximately 2,000 residents were in the city when the truce began. They chose to evacuate to either Ukrainian or Russian-controlled territory, or to stay with resupplied food and medical aid. The operation concluded on Saturday, and officials did not release the exact number of people who remained.

At the Ukrainian border, families greeted the humanitarian convoy on Saturday. Residents of nearby villages lined the highway, waving flags and flashlights. However, the silence did not extend to the rest of the country. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia continues to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of winter. He reported that hundreds of thousands of families lost power overnight as Moscow exploited a shortage in Ukrainian air defense systems.

Zelenskyy noted on X that the intensity of strikes is extremely high. He said Russian forces are trying to take maximum advantage of the lack of ballistic missile interceptors. In Kyiv region, drone attacks continued for a second day, wounding a woman and damaging homes and a retail store. Ukraine’s air force reported that it destroyed or suppressed 371 of the 433 drones Moscow launched overnight. Conversely, local officials in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region said more than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the area east of Moscow.

Russian media reported that a Ukrainian strike sparked a fire at the Kstovo oil refinery in the same region. Governor Gleb Nikitin stated that an industrial building in Kstovo sustained damage. Zelenskyy said Kyiv also hit a factory producing missile components and air defense facilities in Russia’s southern Rostov region. He described the strikes as just defense against aggression aimed at reducing Russia’s capability to continue the war.

In Kherson, daily life persisted on the final day of the truce. The Mykola Kulish Kherson Regional Academic Music and Drama Theater held a concert as scheduled. Director Oleksandr Knyha told the audience to hold on. The company performs in a basement and is equipping an additional bomb shelter. About 100 of its 120 staff members work in Kherson, and none have evacuated.

Costume maker Alla Vasylenko, 58, said the silence of the truce still frightens her. She has no plans to leave because she has 10 dogs and lacks the funds for travel. The trip would cost between 30,000 and 50,000 hryvnias. She said that until the left bank is liberated, there is no certainty the war will end. The theater staged a concert featuring songs from Crimea to the Carpathian mountains to unite the audience and offer hope.