KYIV: The longest truce of the Ukraine war, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump and limited to just the Kherson region, was set to end on Sunday evening after neither side announced an extension.

The rare pause in fighting, which began early Tuesday, enabled a humanitarian mission to Russian-occupied Oleshky.

Neither side reported violations after the truce began, in what one Ukrainian lawmaker described as the “biggest de-escalation since 2022”.

A Kherson resident said the ceasefire had been a “breath of fresh air”.

“We have to use this time to get things done,” said Volodymyr Omeltc­henko, a 38-year-old gardener. “We’re pruning the rose bushes for winter.”

The ceasefire was due to end later on Sunday.

A Ukrainian military officer expressed concerns that the fighting would be “worse than before” when it resumed as Russian forces, positioned on the other side of the Dnipro river, have taken advantage of the calm of the past few days to amass new troops, transport ammunition stocks.

Refinery hit

Fighting continued elsewhere in Ukraine.

Russia said on Sunday that a drone had struck an “industrial enterprise” east of Moscow overnight.

Ukrainian media reported that Kyiv had attacked the Kstovo oil refinery, calling it “one of Russia’s largest oil refineries, producing fuel and lubricants”.

Kyiv has repeatedly struck Russian oil and gas sites, in what it says is fair retaliation for Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

US President Trump had been pressing Kyiv to stop such attacks, blaming them for rising diesel costs that analysts attribute to the Iran war.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2026