In brief: A Russian drone struck a medical facility in central Kherson on Monday, Nov. 2, less than nine hours after a humanitarian ceasefire ended. The attack damaged the building, offices, and equipment, but staff were in shelter and no injuries were reported. A separate drone strike on a car injured two people as attacks resumed following the six-day pause.
A Russian drone struck a medical facility in central Kherson on Monday, Nov. 2, damaging rooms, windows, and doors less than nine hours after a localized humanitarian ceasefire ended.
Kherson City Military Administration head Yaroslav Shanko said the drone hit the building at about 7:40 a.m. local time. His initial report said no one was injured.
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The facility’s director, Valerii Tymoshenko, later told Suspilne that all staff had been in shelter when the drone struck. He confirmed there were no injuries and said it was the center’s second drone attack in seven days.
The strike damaged the three-story building’s facade, offices, computers, office equipment, and furniture, Tymoshenko said.
“The main thing is that the staff were unharmed. They were all in the shelter,” he said.
The attack came after a six-day pause in fighting intended to allow humanitarian aid deliveries and civilian evacuations from Russian-occupied Oleshky, across the Dnipro River from Ukrainian-held Kherson.
Separate drone attack wounds 2
About 20 minutes after the medical facility was hit, another Russian drone attacked a car in Kherson’s Korabelnyi district, according to the city military administration.
A 62-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man sustained blast injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment and further examinations, the administration said.
Those injuries were reported in the separate vehicle attack. Neither Shanko’s initial account nor the medical facility director’s subsequent comments reported casualties from the strike on the building.
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The two morning attacks followed the expiry of a localized ceasefire that began at 3 a.m. Kyiv time on Tuesday, Oct. 27 and ended at 10:59 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1.
Ceasefire gives Kherson a brief respite
The humanitarian pause was negotiated to deliver food, medicine, and other essential supplies to Oleshky and allow civilians who wished to leave to evacuate.
It also brought a rare respite to Kherson. During its opening days, residents returned to the streets and municipal workers reached areas where Russian attacks had previously made repairs and cleanup difficult.
In an Wednesday, Oct. 28 update, Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said the first 30 hours had passed without incidents. City authorities also reported a period without shelling or drone attacks.
Municipal workers used the lull to remove rubbish, board up windows, and repair roofs near the river, while continuing to wear helmets and body armor and carry drone detectors.
US First Lady Melania Trump, who helped mediate the agreement, said after the mission that nearly 800 people had been evacuated from Oleshky.
Her total did not specify how many evacuees went to Ukrainian-controlled territory and how many chose Russia. Ukrainian officials said residents heading to government-controlled areas returned through Russia and Belarus and crossed into the Chernihiv region.
The operation followed months of severe shortages in occupied Oleshky.
Ukraine says Russia reinforced positions during pause
Despite the humanitarian operation’s completion, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Monday, Nov. 2 that Russian forces had used the pause to improve their military positions.
It reported troop rotations, fortification work, expanded anti-drone protection along roads, and increased logistical activity, including ammunition deliveries.
The General Staff said Ukrainian forces had observed the agreement, enabling aid to reach civilians and residents seeking to return to Ukrainian-controlled territory to leave Oleshky.
Sky News also published footage supplied by a Ukrainian marine brigade monitoring Russian activity. Its report showed Russian troops, vehicles, and supplies moving around Oleshky during the ceasefire.
The Institute for the Study of War had warned of the risk before the mission’s completion that Russia could exploit the limited pause to rebuild its forces in Kherson region, while raising concerns about whether evacuees would have a genuine choice of destination.
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