Russian Strikes Kill 26 at Ukraine Aid Centre as Shelter Hit in Second Wave

KOMYSHUVAKHA — At least 26 people were killed on Monday when Russian aerial bombs struck a school being used to distribute humanitarian aid and then hit a nearby shelter in this front-line village in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, according to Ukrainian officials.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first strike hit just as residents were arriving to collect aid, which was handed out at the school every Monday, and a second wave of bombs then targeted the shelter where people had taken cover. Ukraine's emergency service said two rescue workers and four police officers were among the dead, five people were injured, and rescuers were still searching the rubble for people reported missing as the toll rose through the day from 18 to 26. Regional authorities declared Tuesday a day of mourning across the Zaporizhzhia region, and officials said Russia had not publicly commented on the attack. The school was not holding classes because the village sits too close to the front line, according to officials, and the building's role as an aid point was well known locally.

The strike came hours after a rare six-day local ceasefire in the neighbouring Kherson region expired without reported breaches, a pause brokered to allow a mission to the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, and on the same day the United States said Russian and Ukrainian delegations would meet for trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11. The attack underlines how quickly the fighting has returned to southern Ukraine even as diplomats prepare that meeting, and it follows months of strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure that have left civilians bearing the heaviest cost. News Plus Globe is tracking the latest developments as rescue work continues and the final casualty count is confirmed.