Russian attacks resumed around Kherson on Monday, November 2, after a six-day humanitarian truce around Russian-occupied Oleshky ended, Ukrainian authorities said. Euronews reported that a drone attack injured two older residents. The temporary pause in fighting had allowed humanitarian aid deliveries and the evacuation of civilian residents in southern Ukraine.
Reuters reported that the truce began on October 27 and expired on Sunday evening. US first lady Melania Trump helped broker the arrangement. She said nearly 800 people left Oleshky. The Kyiv Independent reported that neither government had released its own total; Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said their agreement prevented disclosure of the figures.
Ukraine's General Staff alleged that Russian troops used the pause to rotate units, reinforce positions and deliver ammunition, Reuters reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he lacked specific information about Russian operations but assumed Ukrainian forces had also regrouped. Those statements do not independently establish either side's military activity during the truce.
The humanitarian benefits of the temporary pause also extended to Ukrainian-held areas. Associated Press reporters visited riverside communities during the pause and described residents isolated by drones and mines. The regional administration said 180 people, including 23 children, were evacuated from those communities and Kherson city. That figure covers a different area from the Oleshky evacuation total announced by Melania Trump.
Kherson authorities reported renewed drone strikes on Monday, while residents again faced the dangers that had restricted aid access. Lubinets said his office hoped to expand the evacuation mechanism to other occupied territories, according to the Kyiv Independent. Further humanitarian access remains a stated objective; the completed local operation did not establish a wider ceasefire.
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