A Russian air strike on a humanitarian aid centre in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region has killed at least 26 people, Ukrainian officials said, as the United States announced plans for fresh peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.
The attack occurred at a school in Komyshuvakha village, which had been converted into a shelter and humanitarian aid distribution centre because of its proximity to the front line.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the facility was closed to students but served as a weekly collection point for relief packages for residents.
According to Zelenskyy, Russian forces launched the initial strike as people were arriving at the centre, followed by another attack targeting the shelter.
“The Russians struck first just as people were arriving – a few aerial bombs,” he said in his nightly address. “Then there was a second strike – more air bombs, this time on the shelter. A vile terrorist strike.”
The Ukrainian president condemned the bombardment, saying Russian forces were aware that residents gathered at the facility every Monday to receive humanitarian assistance.
Ukraine’s emergency services said two rescue workers and four police officers were among those killed.
Five people, including two members of the rescue team, were receiving medical treatment in hospitals.
Meanwhile, Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Regina Kharchenko reported that 27 people were missing, with emergency personnel working to locate those trapped beneath the debris.
Zelenskyy described the incident as evidence that Moscow was unwilling to pursue peace, saying, “This is yet further proof that Russia does not want any kind of de-escalation, any real justice,” while accusing the Russian government of rejecting opportunities for humanitarian cooperation following a recent mission in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky.
He said the humanitarian operation, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, had offered Russia an opportunity to take further steps towards easing the conflict.
“If Russia genuinely wanted de-escalation, there was an opportunity following the situation in Oleshky to continue taking humanitarian steps,” he said.
“We proposed this. But Russia continues to kill people.”
The Ukrainian leader also warned that intelligence reports indicated Russia was preparing a fresh “massive attack” against the country’s energy and logistics infrastructure, potentially timed to coincide with the United States midterm elections.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said Moscow was banking on global attention shifting away from the conflict, leaving Ukraine’s difficulties in securing air defence systems, including Patriot missiles, overlooked.
He called on Washington to intensify pressure on Russia.
Hours after the attack, US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, announced that Russian and Ukrainian delegations would meet in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on November 10 and 11 for another round of negotiations.
Witkoff said the discussions would focus on “post-war security agreements, de-escalation, humanitarian measures, and ending the war”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly approved the fresh round of talks after meeting Witkoff in St Petersburg on October 21.
The negotiations come as US officials seek a diplomatic breakthrough before winter, with the conflict entering its fifth year.
The last US-mediated negotiations between the two countries took place in February, before the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, also called for continued international isolation of Russia following the attack, criticising a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reinstate Russia in major ice hockey competitions.
“Russia deserves condemnation, isolation, and consequences, not a return to international respectability,” Sybiha wrote on X.
Elsewhere, Russian drone attacks in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region injured 12 people and damaged a refrigeration facility, greenhouses and residential buildings, according to emergency services.
In Odesa, five people sustained injuries after a warehouse was struck, damaging nearby houses.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems intercepted 212 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Samara Region Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev also reported that an attempted drone attack had been repelled, without providing further details.
