Russia-Ukraine war: Ceasefire in Kherson region nears end after civilian evacuation from Oleshky

Civilians in Ukraines southeastern Kherson region prepared Sunday for the end of a localized ceasefire that has marked the most significant truce between Kyiv and Moscow since Russias fullscale invasion of Ukraine began nearly five years agoThe White House said that US first lady Melania Trump helped to broker the limited truce which began early Tuesday and is expected to end Sunday evening The pause in hostilities allowed besieged residents in the frontline city of Oleshky to be evacuated in a rare joint operation that ended SaturdayThe ceasefire across Oleshky and the surrounding Kherson region has provided residents with the freedom to move access to food clean water medicine plus a renewed sense of dignity without the constant threat of attack Trump said on social media Let Oleshky become the starting point for lasting peaceAn estimated 2000 civilians were in Oleshky when the temporary truce took hold They were offered the choice of evacuating to territory controlled by Ukraine or Russia or remaining in the city with replenished food and medical supplies For the safety of those who have stayed exact numbers werent released after the evacuationAt the Ukrainian border Saturday family members waited for a glimpse of their loved ones while residents of nearby villages lined the highway waving flags and flashlights to greet the humanitarian convoy But Moscow and Kyiv have continued aerial strikes elsewhere with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying Sunday that Russia continues to target Ukraines energy systems before winterHundreds of thousands of families were left without power overnight as Moscow sought to exploit Ukraines shortage of air defenses Zelenskyy said in a post on social media The intensity of the strikes is extremely high and the Russians are trying to take maximum advantage of the shortage of ballistic missile interceptors he said in a post on XFinal day of ceasefire brings some respiteResidents in the Ukrainian city of Kherson remained calm Sunday despite knowing that the quiet of the localized ceasefire would soon end Dont be afraid keep holding on Oleksandr Knyha head of the Mykola Kulish Kherson Regional Academic Music and Drama Theater told the audience as he opened a concertThe theater performs every Saturday and Sunday This weekends shows fell during the ceasefire but the company plans to perform next weekend as usual even as local officials warn that Russian forces have brought in more weapons and personnel and some residents expect shelling to intensifyOf course we want peace to finally come Knyha said But weve been working on the front line for four years he added referring to Kherson itself and the theater has never canceled a performance Whatever happens the show is not canceled he saidThe company now performs in a basement and is equipping an additional bomb shelter About 100 of the theaters 120 staff members work in Kherson and none has evacuated Costume maker Alla Vasylenko 58 said that the silence of the brief truce still frightens herNothing will change she said Everything will go back to how it was before the ceasefire because believing the Russians means not believing yourself Vasylenko has no plans to leave I have 10 dogs so I cant leave she said They urge us to leave but you need somewhere to go and the means to get thereThe trip alone would cost 30000 to 50000 hryvnias 650 to 1080 a significant sum for her she said Until we liberate the left bank we have no certainty this will end Vasylenko said referring to the Russiaoccupied part of the regionFor many in Kherson a city that itself lived through Russian occupation that belief is the reason they stay Knyha is from Oleshky on the occupied left bank and used to commute from there to work in Kherson He hasnt given up hope of returning homeThats also what keeps me here he said On the last day of the ceasefire the theater staged a concert built around a musical map of Ukraine with songs from the Crimean Peninsula which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 to the Carpathian mountains in Ukraines southwest This is also our job to unite people and give them hope Knyha saidRussian drone attack kills 3Elsewhere a Russian attack killed three people including a 13yearold girl in the Ukrainian region of Vinnytsia when a drone hit the grounds of a vocational school Ukraines State Emergency Service said Four others were wounded including two 5yearold girls and a 16yearold boyRussian drone attacks also continued to target Ukraines Kyiv region for a second consecutive day wounding a woman and damaging homes energy infrastructure and a retail establishment regional authorities said In its daily report Sunday Ukraines air force said that Moscows forces attacked Ukraine with 433 drones overnight of which 371 were destroyed or suppressedElsewhere more than 100 Ukrainian drones were shot down over the skies of Russias Nizhny Novgorod region east of Moscow local Gov Gleb Nikitin said SundayNikitin said an industrial building in the town of Kstovo had sustained significant damage but didnt give further details Russian media outlets later reported that the attack sparked a blaze at the Kstovo oil refinery sharing images of black plumes of smoke over the horizonLocal officials later placed limits on gasoline sales in the region after lines appeared at gas stations Russian media outlets reported citing Nizhny Novgorods regional government Diesel sales werent affected they saidZelenskyy said Sunday that Kyiv had also struck a factory used to make missile components and air defense facilities inside Russias southern Rostov regionWe are justly defending ourselves against Russian aggression and doing everything to reduce Russias capability to continue it Zelenskyy wroteThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete 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