Kherson exhales: Oleshky ceasefire gives city its first quiet in years

For the first time in four and a half years of full-scale war, the front line along the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast has fallen silent. The ceasefire that began Oct. 27 — part of a U.S.-mediated humanitarian mission to Russian-occupied Oleshky on the opposite bank — is the longest and widest truce of the war so far, according to the Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets says it runs until 11 p.m. on Nov. 1, after which the daily strikes are expected to restart.

The quiet shows up in the official record. Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin's daily updates, usually a grim ledger of attacks and casualties in the city and riverbank communities, have repeated the same line: none recorded. Streets emptied by Russian glide bombs, artillery and drones have filled again, with locals saying they haven't seen this many people out since Kherson was liberated in November 2022. Markets have come back to life, and city crews are using the pause to repair critical infrastructure that had been unreachable.

Outside a supermarket, Iryna Leonova told the Kyiv Independent that people can finally 'feel calm and walk around, ride a bike, not run from one place to another.' Her conclusion was blunter: 'It's not that life has changed in the last few days, it simply returned.' Inna Sapai, who long ago left the riverside Ostriv neighborhood for a safer part of the city, used the lull to check on her home and described a strange new energy — 'the silence really lifts your mood.'

Relief doesn't mean safety. The 'red zone' closest to the river is reachable again, but years of Russian landmines still litter the ground across the water — a threat made real on Oct. 28, when Marines press officer Volodymyr Obertas was killed. Thousands of locals have also returned from outside the city to inspect homes and collect belongings.

Resident Natalia, who declined to give her last name, said the feeling is bittersweet — she got stuck in Kherson's first traffic jam in years while knowing everyone will soon leave again. 'There have been a lot of tears, as people come home to see how their homes have been damaged or ruined completely,' she said. With the ceasefire ending Nov. 1, she fears what comes next: 'I feel sad knowing that soon this will all end, and a great fear of the unknown, that we don't know what will come next.'