It was too good to last.

October ended with a brief ceasefire in the Kherson region of Ukraine, just long enough to allow the evacuation of the roughly 2,000 remaining residents of the town of Oleshky.

And while the world hailed both sides for having completed an urgent humanitarian rescue under the most dire conditions, Vladimir Putin used the time to regroup.

The evacuees had barely had time to celebrate their arrival in Chernihiv, Ukraine, on October 31st when Russia hit the town of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhya Region with at least ten bombs in a “double-tap” strike on November 2nd, targeting civilians gathered at a school where humanitarian aid was being distributed.

In a post on X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said:

“After the first aerial bommb strike, there was a double-tap strike with nine more bombs, specifically targeting the shelter where people were taking cover.” [RFE/RL, November 2, 2026.]

There were 26 fatalities, including four police officers and two rescue workers.

Zelensky said further:

“The Russians could not have been unaware that every week, local residents who had remained in Komyshuvakha received humanitarian aid at that very location. And this is further proof that Russia wants no de-escalation and no real justice.” [Id.]

He added that, after the successful operation at Oleshky, “there was a moment when the next steps could have shown that progress toward peace was possible. With these killings, Russia is sending an entirely opposite signal: Russia is counting on more killings.” [Id.]

And in an interview with Fox News in Kyiv, Zelensky — speaking in English — said that he had held discussions with Donald Trump in which:

“We [said] we can’t not respond after Russia’s attack on our energy [facilities], after Russia is killing our people, attacks on our electricity, gas, refineries, on everything. We said that if you want us not to attack Russia’s refineries, they have not to attack our energy system. Another alternative: Give us Patriot missiles. We will find money; [it’s] not just aid . . . We will pay for it.” [Id.]

He also said that if Washington would provide the missile systems for one month, Ukraine would cease its attacks on Russian refineries for the same amount of time.

But Zelensky is a man of his word. When he said “we can’t not respond,” he wasn’t accidentally using a double negative, which is a no-no in English. He meant exactly what he said: that Ukraine could not sit back and take whatever Russia hands out.

And since Vladimir Putin obviously has no intention of de-escalating his attacks, and Donald Trump can’t seem to decide whose side he is on, it is apparent that this war is on the verge of entering its sixth year.

It’s going to be a long, cold winter in Ukraine . . . and in Russia, if Zelensky has anything to say about it.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/3/26