Image courtesy of the State Emergency Situations Agency of Ukraine
An unprecedented humanitarian ceasefire that took effect in the frontline area of southern Ukraine's Kherson Oblast ended on the 1st. The local ceasefire allowed civilians to evacuate the Russian-occupied Oreshki region.
The local ceasefire was due to end at 10:59 pm local time on the 1st. Although a ceasefire has been in place in the targeted areas since it went into effect on October 27, fighting has continued in other parts of Ukraine.
Under these circumstances, on the 1st, Ukraine's air raid warning app temporarily displayed false information claiming that there was a threat of radioactivity in the capital, Kyiv. It appears that the app was hacked. The false alarm suggested a possible nuclear attack.
"The Air Raid Warning app has probably experienced hostile interference. There is no radiation threat! Stay calm and check the Air Force channels for the latest information," the Ukrainian Air Force said on the Telegram communication app.
Attacks on energy infrastructure in 4 regions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russian nighttime attacks between October 31 and November 1 damaged energy infrastructure in four regions of Ukraine and left hundreds of thousands of households without power. Some power supply was restored on the 1st.
Two people, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed in the overnight attack in the central Vinnytsia region, Ukraine's State Emergency Services Agency said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine attacked a major missile fuel production facility in Russia's southern Rostov region. According to President Zelenskiy, the attack caused fires and damaged four manufacturing facilities.
Work continued throughout the day to restore power supplies in Ukraine. Power was restored to most customers in Dnipropetrovsk region early in the evening, but more than 60,000 people were still without electricity, the governor said.
Emergency power outages have been implemented across Ukraine as energy infrastructure has been repeatedly attacked. Even the capital, Kiv, has been without power for almost an entire day, with water outages also occurring.
Zelenskyy wrote on social media that the intensity of Russian attacks had been "very high" over the past week and that "Russia is trying to take full advantage of the lack of anti-ballistic missile systems (on the Ukrainian side)."
The president also stressed that he is "daily in touch with the United States, Europe, and other partners who can help us" on the need for the Patriot surface-to-air missile system. Patriot is the only effective weapon to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles.
Mr. Zelenskyy thanked countries for their support and long-term commitment, but reiterated his call for additional immediate assistance.
The limited ceasefire, which took effect on October 27, is said to have been made possible through the efforts of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV of the Catholic Church.
The ceasefire was initially limited to Oreshki, Luzon province in southern Ukraine, but has since been extended to a wider area of the province. Oreshki was captured shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Oreshki is stranded between the Dnipro River and Russian military positions. Landmines have been laid on roads leading out of the city, and the area has been exposed to the risk of drone attacks.
The remaining residents of the city have suffered from severe shortages of food, water and electricity. In order to survive, many residents reportedly cooked and ate weeds growing in their gardens.
To Ukraine via Russia and Belarus
A local ceasefire in the Kherson Oblast has allowed residents of Oreshki to flee the city if they wish. October 31 saw evacuees reunited with their loved ones for the first time in years.
There is a Ukrainian military position about five kilometers from Oreshki, but evacuated residents were not able to go there directly. It traveled through Russian-occupied territory into southern Russia, then by air to neighboring Belarus, and finally overland across the border in northern Ukraine and back into Ukraine.
The oldest evacuee was 94 years old and the youngest was 1 year old, said Dmytro Rubinets, the human rights commissioner of Ukraine's parliament.
(English article: Russian strikes cut power to thousands in Ukraine as Kherson ceasefire ends)
