Zaporizhzhia declares three-day mourning after 31 killed in aid center strike
Russian bunker-busting bombs hit a shelter in southern Ukraine, killing 31 people and leaving more than 45 missing as U.S.-brokered peace talks approach next week.
By Connor Murphy ·
Emergency crews and volunteers spent Tuesday picking through the debris of a cratered aid facility in Komyshuvakha, a village in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region. The search for survivors continued at the site where a Russian attack on Monday killed at least 31 people. More than 45 residents remain missing.
Mykhailo Semikin, acting head of the regional military administration, described the event as one of the worst tragedies in the area since the start of the full-scale war. He noted that the dead included four police officers and two rescue workers. At least five others were injured in the blast.
Russian forces used bunker-busting bombs for the strike, some containing nearly 1.5 tons of explosives. Semikin declared three days of mourning in the region. Bodies were recovered from the rubble and transported in white plastic sheeting.
The attack occurred amid a broader wave of overnight strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles, and 59 cruise missiles across nine regions. The barrage damaged power plants, hospitals, and residential buildings, triggering emergency power cuts. Zelenskyy stated that the timing coincided with U.S. elections.
“The Russians think America won’t notice this signal of theirs,” Zelenskyy said. “But we need to notice and stop such terror. We need to help Ukraine defend its skies; otherwise, Russia will never stop its missile strikes.”
In the northeast Kharkiv region, a combined missile and drone attack wounded at least 62 people. A strike damaged a medical facility in the Nemyshlianskyi district, forcing the transfer of more than 200 patients to other hospitals. In the Dnipro area, rescuers pulled a woman from the rubble Tuesday morning after an attack killed one person and wounded 17.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said Russia carried out 20 strikes on energy infrastructure in 10 regions overnight. Three power plants operated by the utility DTEK halted operations due to damage. Rolling blackouts were implemented in parts of Russian-occupied Crimea.
Zelenskyy traveled to Germany Tuesday to consult with European leaders ahead of U.S.-mediated peace talks scheduled for Nov. 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed the date, stating negotiations would focus on postwar security and de-escalation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation would attend.
