Kherson truce ends as Russia rejects extension

Humanitarian mission evacuates 167 civilians from Oleshky

The six-day pause enabled a joint humanitarian operation between Kyiv and Moscow to evacuate hundreds of besieged residents from the front-line city of Oleshky. This evacuation mission concluded on Saturday.

Ukraine’s General Staff reported that 167 civilians were successfully evacuated to safer points within the Kherson region. This group included 22 children and 21 individuals with limited mobility who required special assistance.

At the start of the ceasefire, an estimated 2,000 civilians remained in Oleshky. The exact number of those who chose to remain in the city was not released.

On Saturday, family members waited at the Ukrainian border to greet their relatives. Residents of nearby villages also gathered along the highway, waving flags and flashlights to welcome the humanitarian convoy as it passed through.

Melania Trump brokered limited Oleshky truce

The limited ceasefire in the Oleshky region was brokered with the assistance of US First Lady Melania Trump. This localized pause in hostilities began early on Tuesday and concluded at 10:59 pm Ukraine time on Sunday.

Mrs Trump stated on social media that the arrangement provided residents in the area with the freedom to move and access to food, clean water, and medicine. The agreement remained restricted to the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky and its immediate surroundings.

Russian strikes hit energy infrastructure across Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that these attacks exploited a shortage of air-defence interceptors as winter approaches.

The intensity of the strikes over the past week was described by the President as extremely high. Repair works continued throughout the day, though emergency power cuts were introduced across the country.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, more than 60,000 people remained without electricity. The strikes cut power to thousands of people across Ukraine as the localized truce in Kherson ended.

Drone warfare intensifies between Russia and Ukraine

Of these, 371 were destroyed or suppressed by defensive measures.

President Zelenskyy confirmed that Kyiv also struck a factory in the Rostov region that manufactures missile components and air-defence facilities. Major damage to the industrial site in Nizhny Novgorod was also reported by Al Jazeera.

Kherson residents brace for renewed conflict

Residents in Kherson remained calm on Sunday despite the impending end of the ceasefire.

The performance featured a "musical map of Ukraine" with songs from the Crimean Peninsula to the Carpathian mountains.

Oleksandr Knyha, the head of the theater, addressed the audience during the concert. He told them, "Don’t be afraid, keep holding on". Knyha, who is originally from Oleshky on the occupied left bank, has not given up hope of returning home.

The theater has never cancelled a performance and continues to stage shows in a basement. About 100 of its 120 staff members remain in Kherson, and none have evacuated.

Some residents expect shelling to intensify as the ceasefire expires. She stated, "Nothing will change… because believing the Russians means not believing yourself".

Vasylenko cares for 10 dogs and cannot afford to leave. A trip would cost between 30,000 and 50,000 hryvnias, or $650 to $1,080, which is a significant sum for her. She said that until the left bank is liberated, there is no certainty the war will end.

Ukrainian air-alert system suffers hostile interference

Ukraine’s air-alert system suffered hostile interference on Sunday evening. The Ukrainian air force reported that the Air Alarm application was hacked.

Officials insisted that "There is no radiation threat! Katie Marie Davies contributed to the report from Manchester, England.