What We Know About the Deadly Strike on a Ukrainian Aid Center

Russian bombs hit an aid distribution site and a nearby shelter in the southern Ukrainian village of Komyshuvakha on Monday, killing at least 26 people, according to Ukrainian officials cited by the BBC, Al Jazeera and the Guardian. Rescuers were still searching the rubble overnight, and the Zaporizhzhia region declared Tuesday a day of mourning. The Russian military had not publicly commented.

What happened in Komyshuvakha?

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that Russian forces first struck a school as people were arriving, then hit the shelter with more aerial bombs. He called it a “vile terrorist strike.” The school had no classes because the village, southeast of the regional capital Zaporizhzhia, sits too close to the front line, and it served as a shelter and a weekly aid point, Al Jazeera reported.

Regional head Mykhailo Semikin told the BBC that at least nine 3,000kg aerial bombs hit the village. He called it a “terrible tragedy” for the community. Zelenskyy said Moscow could not have been unaware that the residents who remained there collected humanitarian aid every week.

How many people were killed or are missing?

The toll rose through the day. Zelenskyy first said 18 people had died, and Ukraine's state emergency service later confirmed 24 deaths, including two rescuers and four police officers, the BBC reported. By his late-night address, Zelenskyy said 26 were known dead.

Five people were being treated in hospitals, including two rescue workers. Regina Kharchenko, the secretary of the Zaporizhzhia City Council, said 27 people were missing. Russian drone attacks in the area repeatedly forced rescuers to pause their work, according to Semikin.

Why does Zelenskyy link the attack to the peace effort?

Zelenskyy said the strike followed an evacuation of civilians from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky during a temporary ceasefire brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump. The Guardian described that pause as the longest between the two sides in a war now in its fifth year. Zelenskyy argued that Russia had a chance to build on it with more humanitarian steps and instead chose to keep killing people. The Kremlin said no other similar missions were planned “at the moment,” according to the Guardian.

What does this mean for the talks and the war?

The attack came hours before U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff announced that delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. would meet in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 10 and 11. Al Jazeera reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to the round after meeting Witkoff in St. Petersburg on Oct. 21. Witkoff said the agenda covers post-war security arrangements, de-escalation and humanitarian efforts. No major breakthrough is expected, the BBC reported.

The talks resume after a pause since February. The BBC reported that Moscow stepped up its attacks in that time, while Kyiv nearly ran out of Western-supplied interceptors for missiles. Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian intelligence had warned of a new Russian “massive attack” on energy and logistics networks timed to the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday. He urged Washington to pressure Russia so that it has no choice but to end the war.

What happens next?

Rescue work in Komyshuvakha continues, and the final toll could change because people are still reported missing. Witkoff said U.S. negotiators would also meet European and NATO officials this week in Brussels before the Abu Dhabi round.

Around Prague, based on reporting by BBC News, Al Jazeera, The Guardian