Russian attacks cut power and water for hours across Kyiv and surrounding regions on Wednesday, while the death toll from Monday’s bombing of an aid distribution point in a southeastern Ukrainian village rose to 40 and dozens of people remained missing.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 30 more people could still be buried in the rubble in Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region, one of the deadliest strikes on civilians this year.
What We Know So Far
Komyshuvakha. Multiple Russian guided bombs hit a former school and a nearby shelter on Monday as residents waited for humanitarian aid, officials said. Zelenskyy said Russian forces first dropped aerial bombs on the underground school building being used as a distribution point as people arrived, then struck the shelter with more bombs. Classes had long been suspended because the village lies about 17 kilometers (11 miles) from the nearest Russian positions, but the building served as a shelter and handed out aid every Monday, he said.
Ivan Fedorov, co-head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Defense Council, wrote on Telegram that 59 people were missing. He said 12 bodies pulled from the rubble had been identified, and the National Police said visual identification of some bodies was not possible, so specialists were collecting DNA samples from relatives. Emergency services said two members of a rescue crew and four police officers were among the dead. Russian drones were hampering the search, said Mykhailo Semikin, acting head of the regional military administration, but operations continue. Baptist pastor Vladyslav Makhovskyi, who joined the search, said many of the victims “were killed immediately.”
Body camera footage from a police officer killed in the attack, which Ukrainian police posted and Reuters verified, shows residents gathered outside the shelter as a radio warning of glide bombs came in. Police said several strikes hit the area, including a 3 ton FAB bomb fitted with a glide kit.
Kyiv. Residents were urged to use public drinking water fountains before supplies returned, and emergency centers offered hot tea and power for charging devices. Ukraine’s air force said Russia attacked overnight with 310 drones, including 81 jet powered ones, and that it downed or suppressed 272.
Russia. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 709 Ukrainian drones overnight. The retailer Ozon said a drone attack caused a fire at its logistics center in Adygeysk, with no casualties.
What Authorities Are Saying
“There has been very little reaction from the world to this insane attack,” Zelenskyy wrote on X. “Evil always goes further if it is left unanswered.” World Central Kitchen, which delivers food and water to the community, said the facility was a humanitarian and administrative center. “This strike hit a place where a community was organizing help for its own residents,” said Yuliya Stefanyuk, its response director for Ukraine.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it targeted Ukrainian military units around Komyshuvakha and two other settlements and killed up to 25 Ukrainian servicemen. Russia and Ukraine both deny deliberately targeting civilians.
Differing Accounts
The two sides describe the target differently. Zelenskyy and WCK call the site a shelter and aid center, and Russia says it hit military units. The sources also differ on the number still unaccounted for. Fedorov said 59 were missing, while Zelenskyy said 30 more could be buried.
Why This Matters
The attack came a day after a six day, U.S. brokered ceasefire to evacuate civilians from the Russian occupied town of Oleshky expired. First lady Melania Trump, who brokered the truce, said it allowed nearly 800 people to leave, and Zelenskyy awarded her the Order of Princess Olga, 1st class. It was the most significant truce between Kyiv and Moscow since 2022, the AP said.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Monday the United States will bring Ukrainian and Russian delegations together in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10 and 11 to discuss ending the war, postwar security agreements and an easing of tensions. The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow hopes President Donald Trump will continue efforts to end the war regardless of the midterm election results.
Officials from the U.S., Germany, France, Britain, NATO, the World Bank and the European Union met Wednesday in Brussels on postwar reconstruction. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said earlier talks have focused only on “what Ukraine should give away” and wanted the meeting to discuss European demands for Russian concessions.
In a separate case, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau said Wednesday it uncovered a plot in which senior officials of the security service, prosecutor general’s office and national police allegedly took kickbacks from the criminal underworld to protect fraudulent call centers and illegal drug, cigarette and currency operations. It is the latest in a series of graft scandals during Zelenskyy’s presidency.
What Happens Next
Searches in Komyshuvakha are continuing. Delegations are due in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10 and 11.
Sources: Reuters and the Associated Press
