Ukraine: Bombs kill 31 at aid shelter as drones hit power grid

Rescue teams spent a second night searching for survivors at a destroyed aid distribution site in Komyshuvakha, a village in southern Ukraine. Russian forces struck the location with bunker-busting bombs on Monday while residents waited in line for supplies. The death toll reached 31 by Tuesday, and emergency workers reported that more than 45 people remained missing from the rubble.

Acting head of the Zaporizhzhia region military administration Mykhailo Semikin described the event as one of the worst tragedies for civilian victims in the area since the start of the full-scale war. He confirmed that the dead included four police officers and two rescue workers. Local authorities declared three days of mourning in the region.

Baptist pastor Vladyslav Makhovskyi, a volunteer at the site, told The Associated Press that the shelter was a trusted place where residents felt safe enough to spend the night. He said the bomb was powerful enough to break through heavily reinforced concrete blocks. Makhovskyi noted that the recovery job was not finished, with more bodies remaining inside the structure.

Rescue efforts were interrupted on Tuesday by Russian drones that forced soldiers to halt operations and open fire. Zelenskyy said the strikes first targeted the former school used for humanitarian aid and then aimed at the nearby shelter. He posted on X that the attacks proved Russia wanted no de-escalation.

Overnight into Tuesday, Russia launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles, and 59 cruise missiles across nine regions. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the barrage coincided with U.S. midterm elections. He said the strikes targeted power plants, damaging hospitals and wounding scores of people. Ukraine’s energy ministry reported 20 strikes in 10 regions, causing extensive damage and electricity outages.

DTEK, a Ukrainian power utility, said three of its plants halted operations. In the Kharkiv region, at least 62 people were wounded, and more than 200 patients were transferred from a damaged medical facility. In the Dnipro area, rescuers pulled a woman alive from the rubble after an attack killed one person and wounded 17.

Zelenskyy is in Germany for consultations ahead of U.S.-brokered peace talks scheduled for Nov. 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed the dates, with a focus on postwar security and de-escalation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed a Russian delegation will attend. Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s priorities include halting strikes on energy infrastructure and unblocking Black Sea grain shipments.