During ceasefire in Oleshky, Russians returned to positions that Ukrainian forces spent nearly a year clearing

Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration, has said that during the ceasefire in Oleshky, Russian forces returned to positions that Ukrainian defenders had spent almost a year driving them out of.

Source: Prokudin in Ukrainska Pravda's podcast

Details: Prokudin said that Russian forces took advantage of the humanitarian pause to return to previously lost positions and reinforce their troops. The Russians reoccupied areas from which Ukraine's defence forces had systematically pushed them back over the past year.

Quote: "It took us about a year to dismantle what they re-established during the ceasefire. They have rebuilt almost everything. They used that time very effectively: they rotated personnel, completely rebuilt destroyed positions and stocked up on food, generators and fuel."

Details: Prokudin stated that the Russian forces had also brought additional weapons into the city, including drones, artillery, ammunition and even Grad multiple-launch rocket systems. Russian troops also searched Oleshky for basements where they could establish new hiding places for drone operators.

Quote: "Sometimes a vehicle can't move on its own, so another vehicle tows the Grad, leaves it in one place and then drives somewhere else. They also went around Oleshky looking for basements and setting up new positions for drone operators."

Details: Prokudin stressed that an increase in Russian strikes should be expected following the end of the ceasefire. Russian forces are currently carrying out around 700-800 drone attacks a day, deliberately terrorising civilians in Kherson and hromadas along the river.

Quote: "They will definitely increase. We believe it will be particularly noticeable on 'Liberation Day', 11 November. We'll see what happens, but we're preparing for it."

Details: Prokudin also said that even before the ceasefire, Russian forces had attempted to cross the Dnipro River in boats and on jet skis to raise the Russian flag in a show of force. Ukraine's defence forces thwarted all these attempts, killing most of the assault troops and taking the rest prisoner.

Prokudin noted that Russian forces had held back the humanitarian aid delivered during the mission, keeping it in their warehouses rather than distributing it to residents. Around 1,300 civilians continue to survive in the occupied city amid a humanitarian catastrophe.

Background:

• In spring 2026, a large-scale humanitarian crisis and hunger among civilians worsened in Oleshky and neighbouring settlements on the left bank of the Dnipro River due to the Russian blockade and attacks on the population.
• On 23 October, Ukraine and Russia reached an agreement on a humanitarian mission and a local ceasefire in Oleshky, mediated by US First Lady Melania Trump.
• An agreed ceasefire was in effect from 27 October until 22:59 on 1 November. Those wishing to return to Ukrainian-controlled territory were evacuated by military transport aircraft via Russia and Belarus. They then returned to Ukraine on 31 October through a border crossing point in Chernihiv Oblast.
• On 1 November, Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, announced the end of the ceasefire. Meanwhile, military personnel and journalists said Russian forces had used the ceasefire to bring in heavy armoured vehicles and ammunition and rotate their units.
• Melania Trump said that nearly 800 people had been evacuated as part of the humanitarian mission during the ceasefire in Oleshky, Kherson Oblast.
• Lubinets said neither side had recorded any violations of the ceasefire. He added that the Russian military equipment spotted by journalists had been used exclusively to clear mines from routes under Ukrainian control.

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