The longest truce of the Ukraine war, limited to the eastern Kherson region, ended on Sunday after Russia refused the offer of an extension, Ukrainian officials said.
Neither side reported violations after the truce began, in what one Ukrainian lawmaker described as the “biggest de-escalation since 2022”.
“We’re pruning the rose bushes for winter.
“The ceasefire, which was in effect from October 27 to November 1, has ended,” said Ukraine’s Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets. AFP spoke to several Kherson residents, one of whom said the ceasefire had been a “breath of fresh air”. “We have to use this time to get things done,” said Volodymyr Omeltchenko, a 38-year-old gardener. Pope Leo, who had pressed Russia for a truce in Oleshky, said he hoped the temporary pause would “strengthen the desire for dialogue and lead to new concrete peace initiatives”. Russian forces, positioned on the other side of the Dnipro river, had taken advantage of the calm of the past few days to amass new troops, transport ammunition stocks, and collect intelligence on Ukrainian positions using surveillance drones, the officer said. Kherson regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin warned local people to be particularly vigilant when the ceasefire ended and to “respond immediately to warnings about Russian attacks”.
