Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian aid centre in Komyshuvakha kill at least 31

Russian strikes flatten Zaporizhzhia aid site

A Russian airstrike on a humanitarian aid distribution centre in the southern Ukrainian village of Komyshuvakha has killed at least 31 people and left dozens missing, local officials said.

Nine 3,000kg guided aerial bombs hit the village in the Zaporizhzhia region on Monday, destroying a local school being used to distribute aid before a secondary strike struck an adjacent underground shelter. Emergency teams searching the cratered site confirmed that four police officers and two rescue workers were among the dead, while at least 48 people remain unaccounted for under the rubble. Mykhailo Semikin, the acting head of the regional military administration, described the attack as one of the deadliest civilian strikes in the area since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said local residents gathered at the site every Monday to receive aid packages, stating that Russian forces were aware of the civilian nature of the facility. Search and rescue operations were repeatedly halted as secondary Russian drone attacks targeted the surrounding area.

Energy grid hit across nine regions

The bombing in Komyshuvakha was part of a larger nationwide assault involving 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles, and 59 cruise missiles launched across nine Ukrainian regions, according to figures released by Kyiv.

The combined attack caused emergency power cuts and forced Ukrainian utility DTEK to shut down three damaged power plants. Strikes also targeted healthcare facilities, including a medical centre in Kharkiv's Nemyshlianskyi district, where more than 200 patients were evacuated after shatter damage, and an outpatient clinic in Dnipro that left one dead and 17 injured.

Peace talks set for Abu Dhabi

The escalation comes immediately after the end of a temporary local ceasefire in neighbouring Kherson that had allowed civilian evacuations from Oleshky. Ukrainian officials said the renewed strikes demonstrate Moscow's unwillingness to pursue de-escalation.

Despite the barrage, diplomatic discussions are scheduled to resume next week. US special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that negotiators from Ukraine, Russia, and the United States will meet in Abu Dhabi on 10-11 November to discuss post-war security arrangements and de-escalation steps. Russia's delegation will be led by former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky, while US negotiators are also slated to consult with NATO and European officials in Brussels.