A humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine’s Kherson region, which has allowed civilians to leave the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, is due to end on Sunday night. The localised truce on the front line has held since it was introduced last week, but fighting has continued elsewhere in the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had struck energy infrastructure in four regions overnight from Saturday into Sunday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power. The timing of the ceasefire’s expiry was given as 22:59 Ukrainian time (21:00 GMT) on Sunday.
Overnight strikes leave hundreds of thousands without power
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said another overnight strike killed two people in the Vinnytsia region, including a 13-year-old girl. Zelensky also said Ukraine had hit a major missile fuel producer in Russia’s Rostov region, causing a fire and damaging four production facilities.
Repair crews worked throughout the day to restore electricity. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, most customers had their connections restored by early evening, but more than 60,000 were still without power, according to the regional governor.
Because of repeated attacks on energy infrastructure, emergency power cuts have been introduced across the country. Electricity in the capital, Kyiv, is cut off for most of the day, and water supplies are also disrupted.
Zelensky calls for faster delivery of Patriot missiles
In a social media post, Zelensky said the intensity of Russian strikes had been “extremely high” over the past week. He added that Russia was “trying to take maximum advantage of the shortage of ballistic missile interceptors”.
Zelensky said Ukraine raised its need for Patriot missiles, the only effective weapon for downing Russia’s ballistic missiles, with the United States, Europe and other partners every day. He thanked countries for their support so far and for longer-term commitments, but called for more immediate aid.
Kherson truce allows evacuation from Oleshky
The limited pause in fighting began on Tuesday and was brokered with the help of US First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV. It was first confined to Oleshky, which Russia has occupied since the first days of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and was soon extended across the wider Kherson region.
Oleshky had been cut off on one side by the Dnipro river and on the other by Russian forces. The routes out were mined and exposed to drone attacks, and residents who remained were short of food, water and electricity.
The truce allowed residents to leave if they wished. On Saturday, there were emotional scenes as Ukrainians who had been trapped in the city were reunited with relatives they had not seen for years.
Ukrainian military positions are just 5km (3.1 miles) from Oleshky, but evacuees had to travel through Russian-occupied territory to southern Russia. From there they flew to Belarus before being driven across Ukraine’s northern border.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said the oldest evacuee was 94 years old and the youngest was one.
