Ukraine Warupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 24 April 2021Kherson Residents Report Total Silence After US-Brokered Ceasefire, Fear Russian Attacks Return
“But there are fears that, alongside carrying out the well-publicised ‘humanitarian operation’”
“The parties are fully complying with the agreed-upon terms, and no violations of the ceasefire have been recorded,”
Photo: Oleksandr Malyon, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Ceasefire in the Oleshky-Kherson area holds, reducing attacks. Residents report more people on streets and life returning.
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Kherson’s brief quiet
Kherson residents described a rare pause in Russian aerial attacks after a US-brokered temporary ceasefire brought “total silence,” with Olga, 42, saying, “Ever since the ceasefire was announced, there's been total silence.” The temporary pause in hostilities was due to end on Sunday, and the ceasefire was tied to efforts by US First Lady Melania Trump to broker a safe passage out of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky across the Dnipro river from Kherson.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Kherson has “literally come back to life,” describing people calmly going out, walking, and enjoying the autumn sun. Petro Andriushchenko, Director of Ukraine's Center for Studying the Occupation, said Kherson locals had told him they witnessed a military build-up around Radensk, some 20km (12 miles) from Oleshky, and he warned the situation may be “worse than we saw before.”
Ceasefire terms and compliance
The ceasefire near Oleshky continued to hold after it went into effect on Tuesday, and it quoted Dmytro Lubinets writing, “The ceasefire has now been in effect for 54 hours.”
The agreement on establishing a six-day ceasefire and evacuation operation in Oleshky and the surrounding area was brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump and her team, and it added that a formal agreement between Ukraine and Russia, represented by ombudsmen from both countries, Lubinets and Yana Lantratova, has been signed on October 23 in Belarus.
Ukrinform said Lubinets stated that the ceasefire began on October 27 at 03:00 Kyiv time and would remain in effect until 22:59 on November 1, and it quoted him saying, “Kherson, which had been under constant shelling, has literally come back to life.”
WRAL, citing AP, described the ceasefire as spreading to the other side of the river within the Kherson region, and it said the local pause in fighting started at 3 a.m. Tuesday to allow medicine, food and water to be taken to Oleshky before evacuation corridors are opened later in the week.
What comes next
Fears persisted that, alongside a “humanitarian operation,” Russian forces were using the lull to strengthen their positions, bring in more military supplies, weapons, ammunition, and drones, and carry out redeployment ahead of a renewed onslaught of Kherson from next week. WRAL, citing AP, said the situation in Oleshky was desperate, with food and medical supplies running perilously low for up to 2,000 people still there, as drones and land mines restrict movement.
The operation would proceed in three stages, establishing a ceasefire, delivering food, water and medicine to Oleshky, and finally evacuating residents who wish to leave, and it quoted HRMMU saying, “People can’t get out, food can’t get in, and sick and injured are not getting the medical assistance they need.” Once the ceasefire ends, the situation may be “worse than we saw before,” because Russia's units would be stronger and would have enough time to prepare to prolong the action.