A Russian bombing on Monday hit a humanitarian aid distribution centre and a neighbouring shelter in the village of Komyshuvakha, killing at least 26 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and emergency services said. The village is in the south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region.
Emergency services said the dead included two rescue workers and four police officers. Five people were receiving hospital treatment, among them two rescue workers. Zaporizhzhia city council secretary Regina Kharchenko said 27 people were missing.
In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said the first bombs struck a school used as a shelter and a location for distributing humanitarian aid. The school was not holding classes because the village is close to the frontline, he said. According to Zelenskyy, a second strike hit the shelter as people arrived to collect aid.
Rescuers searched the rubble after nightfall, using torches, according to images and video shared by local officials. Their work was hindered by further Russian drone attacks in the area, said Mykhailo Semikin, a military official in Zaporizhzhia.
Zelenskyy said residents gathered at the site each week to collect humanitarian packages. He described the bombing as evidence that Russia was not seeking to de-escalate, and said Ukraine had proposed further humanitarian steps after a ceasefire enabled an evacuation from Russian-occupied Oleshky the previous week.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff said talks between Russia and Ukraine were due to resume in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November. US President Donald Trump has pressed for a settlement, but no breakthrough has been reported.
Sources: The Guardian World.