433 Drones Struck Ukraine as Localized Ceasefire in Kherson Ended

A localized ceasefire in Ukraine’s southeastern Kherson region expired Sunday evening, marking the end of the longest pause in hostilities since Russia’s full-scale invasion began four and a half years ago. The White House stated that First Lady Melania Trump helped broker the agreement, which started early Tuesday. The truce allowed for the evacuation of besieged residents in the front-line city of Oleshky in a joint operation that concluded Saturday.

Ukrainian air force data shows the broader conflict remained intense during the final days of the local pause. Moscow launched 433 drones at Ukraine overnight Sunday, and Kyiv destroyed or suppressed 371 of them. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia is targeting energy systems ahead of winter to exploit Ukraine’s shortage of air defenses. He reported that hundreds of thousands of families lost power during the overnight strikes.

“The intensity of the strikes is extremely high, and the Russians are trying to take maximum advantage of the shortage of ballistic missile interceptors,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. He noted that Kyiv struck a missile components factory and air defense facilities in Russia’s Rostov region in response. In Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, more than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down. Local officials reported significant damage to an industrial building in Kstovo, which later sparked a fire at an oil refinery.

In Oleshky, an estimated 2,000 civilians were present when the truce began. They could choose to evacuate to Ukrainian or Russian controlled territory or stay with replenished supplies. Authorities did not release exact figures on how many remained after the evacuation. At the border, family members waited for evacuees while residents of nearby villages lined highways to greet the humanitarian convoy with flags and flashlights.

Life in Kherson continued with a mix of routine and vigilance. Oleksandr Knyha, head of the Mykola Kulish Kherson Regional Academic Music and Drama Theater, told an audience to keep holding on as he opened a concert. The theater performs in a basement and is building an additional bomb shelter. About 100 of its 120 staff members work in Kherson, and none have evacuated. Knyha, who is from the occupied left bank of Oleshky, said the company has never canceled a performance in four years.

Costume maker Alla Vasylenko, 58, said the silence of the truce still frightens her. She has no plans to leave because she owns 10 dogs and the travel cost of 30,000 to 50,000 hryvnias is a heavy burden. “Nothing will change. Everything will go back to how it was before the ceasefire, because believing the Russians means not believing yourself,” Vasylenko said. She added that certainty of an end is lacking until the left bank is liberated.

Local officials warned that Russian forces have increased weapons and personnel in the area. Residents expect shelling to intensify as the formal pause ends. The theater staged a concert featuring songs from Crimea to the Carpathian mountains to unite the audience. Knyha said the performance was a job to give people hope, and he remains in Kherson with the goal of returning to his home in Oleshky.