Two days of silence bring Kherson back to life, but residents fear strikes will resume

The Ukrainian city of Kherson has known its first two days of quiet in nearly five years, as a US-brokered temporary ceasefire gave residents of the front-line region a rare respite from constant Russian aerial attacks.

Videos posted on social media showed people strolling down streets covered in anti-drone nets and gathering in the city's squares — ordinary activities that usually mean keeping one eye on the sky and one ear out for incoming drones.

Olga, 42, speaking by phone from Kherson, said there had been total silence ever since the ceasefire was announced and that everyone was overjoyed. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Kherson had literally come back to life since Tuesday, with people calmly going out, walking and enjoying the autumn sun.

The temporary pause in hostilities is due to end on Sunday. It is the result of efforts by US First Lady Melania Trump to broker a safe passage out of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky, which lies across the Dnipro river from Kherson. For several days, Russian forces have been clearing the road of mines ahead of a planned evacuation of Oleshky's civilians on Friday; the evacuation is due to be completed by Sunday, after which the ceasefire will be over.

But there are fears that Russia is also using the truce to bolster its forces in the area. An anonymous source working in local government said Russian forces were using the lull to strengthen their positions, bring in more military supplies, weapons, ammunition and drones, and redeploy their forces.

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 20 kilometres from Oleshky. He said Oleshky's residents would be saved, but the enemy was simultaneously being given an opportunity to exploit the ceasefire, and once it ends the situation may be worse than before.

No violations have been reported on either side since Tuesday. Kherson resident Dima said there had been other ceasefires in the past, but they were generally not respected; this is the first time the shelling has stopped, and people do not quite believe it. People are going to the shops, drinking coffee and walking around — the city is alive.

This week, dozens of people were also able to access their belongings and homes in Kherson's so-called "red zone," an area so exposed to drones and artillery that it has become unlivable. Denisa Bohackova, a Czech volunteer who lives in Kherson, said some were venturing into places where nobody had dared to go for years. Some who returned found buildings reduced to charred, empty shells; in other cases, homes had been looted.

Others rushed back for reasons beyond material concerns. Angela Dobrovolska's husband Serhiy was killed two years ago by a grenade dropped by a piloted Russian drone. On Thursday, Angela headed back from Kyiv to Kherson to visit his grave for the first time in months, saying everyone had rushed to Kherson and she would be going to the cemetery.

Kherson's population has dwindled from over 250,000 to about 65,000 since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which will enter its sixth year in February. Civilian life never stopped, but it carried on under the conditions of an active battlefield, with schools, theatres, kindergartens and hospitals moved underground.

Olga, who is raising two children, described regular blackouts, mines dropped by drones and concealed by fallen leaves, and a city that typically shuts by the afternoon. But since silence fell, she has driven to a different town and taken the bus to visit her grandmother with her son; around her, the shops and cafes were full, and there was even a small traffic jam.

The evacuation of Oleshky is due to be completed by Sunday, after which the ceasefire will be over. Olga fears that, starting Monday, things could turn truly chaotic. Dima said everyone knows the strikes will resume and increase. Still, in his words, these few days showed how life could be if it all finally ended.