Residents of Kherson took advantage of a short ceasefire to spend time outdoors and return to routines often made dangerous by Russian drones. Friends met at a cafe, families walked with children and shoppers bought supplies as the city experienced a brief lull in attacks.
“No drones, no explosions,” said 21-year-old Olena Soboleva, who met her friend Anna Herasimenko during the pause. Herasimenko said the streets felt as they had before the war: “The city seems alive.” She also visited a salon and showed off her freshly painted burgundy nails.
The truce ran from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1 and was agreed to help residents of Oleshky, across the Dnipro River from Kherson. Russian forces occupied the town in 2022, and mines around it have made it difficult for food and medicine to reach residents. Hundreds of people were evacuated over the weekend and escorted by bus to northern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, thanked Melania Trump for helping ensure the ceasefire took place. He said he believed truces between Ukraine and Russia could be upheld.
For Kherson, the pause offered relief in a city where residents have faced attacks from Russian forces based across the river. Since 2024, those forces have used explosive-laden first-person-view drones against people in the city. Heavy mesh nets cover sections of roads, streets and buildings to protect against them.
The ceasefire also gave some residents a chance to return to meaningful places. Svitlana Vorobiova, a retired police officer now living in a safer city, visited Kherson with her children. Her son had not been there in four years and told her he could not believe he was back in his hometown.
Former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolaienko, who returned to the city after being freed in a prisoner exchange last year, used the pause to visit his father’s grave in an area usually threatened by drones. He said he had wanted to speak to his father, pray and tell him what had happened to the city.
On Sunday night, the truce ended. Oncology nurse Olena Yehorova said the pause had let people “breathe,” but residents remained cautious and expected attacks to resume.
Sources: NPR News.