Ukraine declares mourning after aid center strike

At least 31 people died and more than 45 remain missing in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine following a Russian strike on an aid facility and shelter in the village of Komyshuvakha.

The attack occurred on Monday and prompted the regional military administration to declare three days of mourning. Acting head Mykhailo Semikin stated that the incident represented one of the highest civilian death tolls in the region since the full-scale war began. The dead included four police officers and two rescue workers, while at least five others were injured.

Russian forces utilized bunker-busting bombs in the strike, with some munitions containing nearly 1.5 tons of explosives. Emergency teams and volunteers continued to clear the cratered blast site on Tuesday, recovering bodies covered in white plastic sheeting. Semikin described the scale of the tragedy as terrifying in an online post.

The blast was part of a wider overnight campaign that targeted power plants and infrastructure across nine Ukrainian regions. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles, and 59 cruise missiles. He noted that the barrage coincided with U.S. elections and argued that Russia expected the United States to overlook the signal.

In the Kharkiv region, a combined missile and drone attack wounded at least 62 people. The strike damaged a medical facility in the Nemyshlianskyi district, shattering windows in four apartment buildings and damaging vehicles. Regional head Oleh Syniehubov confirmed that more than 200 patients were transferred to other medical facilities. In the Dnipro area, rescuers pulled a woman from rubble on Tuesday morning after a separate attack killed one person and wounded 17.

Ukraine’s energy ministry reported 20 strikes on energy infrastructure overnight, causing extensive damage and electricity outages. DTEK, a major power utility, announced that three of its plants halted operations due to the intensity of the attacks. Moscow’s Ministry of Defense claimed it shot down 856 Ukrainian drones, while Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 493 drones were aimed at the Russian capital. Two employees at an oil refinery in Yaroslavl were wounded in a Ukrainian drone strike, according to regional governor Mikhail Yevrayev.

Zelenskyy traveled to Germany on Tuesday to consult with European leaders ahead of U.S.-mediated peace talks scheduled for Nov. 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi. Steve Witkoff, the special envoy to Ukraine, confirmed the dates late Monday. The negotiations will focus on postwar security, de-escalation, and humanitarian efforts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation would attend the meeting, marking the first such talks since February.