Harris County Readers: 31 Killed in Russian Strike on Ukraine Aid Site

Thirty-one people were killed in a series of Russian attacks on a humanitarian aid distribution site in southern Ukraine, officials reported on Tuesday. The strikes occurred on Monday in Komyshuvakha, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region, where residents had gathered to receive supplies. More than 45 residents remain missing as emergency teams and volunteers search through the debris.

The attacks used bunker-busting bombs against a former school and a nearby shelter. Mykhailo Semikin, the acting head of the regional military administration, described the event as one of the worst tragedies for civilians in the area since the full-scale war began. He noted that the dead included four police officers and two rescue workers. At least five other people were injured. The region declared three days of mourning.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the strikes targeted the school first, where aid was regularly distributed, and then moved to the shelter. He called the attacks further proof that Russia does not want de-escalation. Zelenskyy said Ukraine offered to extend a six-day ceasefire in the occupied city of Oleshky, but the strikes followed that expiration. This ceasefire had allowed trapped residents to evacuate and was the most significant truce since 2022.

New U.S.-brokered peace negotiations are scheduled for November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi. Steve Witkoff, the special envoy for President Donald Trump, confirmed the dates on Monday. The talks will focus on postwar security, de-escalation, and humanitarian efforts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will attend. Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s priorities include halting strikes on energy infrastructure, unblocking Black Sea grain shipments, and expanding prisoner exchanges.

A wave of strikes overnight into Tuesday targeted power plants across the country. Russia launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles, and 59 cruise missiles across nine regions. These attacks caused emergency power cuts and damaged hospitals. In the Kharkiv region, a missile and drone attack wounded at least 62 people. A strike in the Nemyshlianskyi district damaged a medical facility and forced more than 200 patients to be transferred to other hospitals.

In the Dnipro area, rescuers pulled a woman from the rubble on Tuesday morning after an attack killed one person and wounded 17. The strikes damaged an outpatient clinic and a hospital. Zelenskyy was in Berlin meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of the peace talks. He said Europe’s involvement in achieving peace is essential to ensure a common view on security challenges. A meeting with officials from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union, NATO, the United States, and the World Bank is scheduled for Wednesday to discuss postwar reconstruction.