During the ceasefire in Oleshky, the Russians regained positions from which they had been driven out for a whole year, — Prokudin

The Russians regained their lost positions in Oleshky during the ceasefire. Archive photo: Dmytro Lubinets

During the humanitarian pause, the Russians regained almost all their positions in Oleshky, from which the Ukrainian Defence Forces had been driving them back for a year. The Russians also brought additional weapons, ammunition and equipment for drone operators into the town.

Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, spoke about this on the «Ukrainska Pravda» podcast «Kliati Pytannia».

According to him, the Russians used the ceasefire to rotate their personnel, repair destroyed fortifications and replenish their stocks of food and fuel.

«What they rebuilt during the ceasefire took us about a year to destroy. They have rebuilt almost everything.» They used this time very effectively: they rotated their personnel, restored positions that had been completely destroyed, and stocked up on food, generators and fuel,» said Oleksandr Prokudin.

In addition, the Russians delivered drones, artillery, ammunition and «Grad» multiple rocket launchers to Oleshky. They also searched the town for cellars, where they set up new bases for drone operators.

The Russians regained their lost positions in Oleshky during the ceasefire. Map: DeepState

Oleksandr Prokudin suggests that following the ceasefire, the number of Russian strikes on the Kherson region may increase. Currently, he says, the Russians are carrying out around 700–800 drone attacks per day, particularly on Kherson and coastal communities.

«They will definitely increase. We believe this will be particularly evident on 11 November, the day of liberation. We’ll see how it goes, but we’re preparing for it,» said the head of the Regional Military Administration.

Oleksandr Prokudin also reported that even before the ceasefire, the Russians had attempted to cross the Dnipro River in boats and jet skis in order to raise their flag. The Defence Forces thwarted these attempts: most of the assailants were neutralised, whilst the rest were taken prisoner.

Earlier, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russian troops had exploited a temporary pause in hostilities in the Kherson region – which had been introduced to allow a humanitarian mission to take place in the occupied town of Oleshky – to strengthen their positions.

Also recently, near Oleshky, Ukrainian forces struck Russian troop positions and shelters. The routes used by Russian units to move around were also targeted.