Russian attacks destroy aid shelter in Zaporizhzhia, killing at least 31
Rescuers in the village of Komyshuvakha worked through the night to find survivors after Russian bunker-busting bombs hit a shelter and former school, leaving 31 dead and dozens missing.
Rescuers in the Zaporizhzhia region spent a second night searching for survivors at an aid distribution site in the village of Komyshuvakha after a series of Russian attacks destroyed a shelter and a former school. The strikes, which used bunker-busting bombs, killed at least 31 people, including four police officers and two rescue workers, and left more than 45 residents missing.
Mykhailo Semikin, acting head of the region’s military administration, said in an online post that the tragedy was "terrifying" and among the worst civilian losses since the war began. Volunteer and Baptist pastor Vladyslav Makhovskyi described the shelter as a trusted place that provided internet access and night-time refuge, noting that a bomb "so powerful that it broke through the heavily reinforced concrete blocks" hit the building.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, posting on X, linked the attacks to the timing of the U.S. midterm elections and urged international support to defend Ukraine’s skies. He also said the strikes demonstrated Russia’s refusal to de-escalate, citing the targeting of the shelter and the nearby aid distribution point.
The attacks coincided with a broader wave of Russian strikes that hit power plants, hospitals and other infrastructure across nine regions, prompting emergency power cuts. Ukraine’s energy ministry reported 20 strikes on power facilities, causing rolling blackouts in several areas.
Zelensky, currently in Berlin for a security conference, met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and discussed upcoming U.S.-brokered peace talks scheduled for early November. U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, confirmed the dates, and a Russian delegation is expected to attend.
In other regions, Russian missile and drone attacks wounded dozens, damaged medical facilities and forced the evacuation of patients to other hospitals. Ukrainian authorities continue to coordinate rescue and medical response efforts amid ongoing hostilities.