Kyiv (Ukraine): A devastating series of Russian air strikes on a Ukrainian school killed at least 26 people who had gathered to collect humanitarian assistance, shattering brief hopes for diplomatic momentum following a localised ceasefire.

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The lethal bombardment hit a village in the Zaporizhzhia region shortly after the expiration of a rare truce in nearby Kherson. Moscow launched repeated aerial attacks on the location, striking first as civilians arrived for weekly aid distribution and subsequently targeting the site’s shelter. Among the 26 victims were four police officers and two first responders, identified by local authorities as 44-year-old emergency workers Denys Konovalenko and Oleksy Sushchevsky.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, stating, “Every Monday, humanitarian aid was distributed to people there. The Russians carried out the first strike just as people arrived – several aerial bombs. Then, there was a repeat strike – more aerial bombs, this time targeting the shelter.”
Zelensky added that following the local pause, “there was a moment when the next steps could have shown that progress toward peace was possible. With these killings, Russia is sending an entirely opposite signal: Russia is counting on more killings. There must be a response to this.”

The preceding multi-day truce, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump to facilitate civilian evacuations from Russian-occupied Oleshky, was managed jointly by Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova. Despite the pause holding without reported violations, Ukrainian officials reported that Moscow rejected a proposal to extend the arrangement and instead used the operational lull to fortify frontline defensive lines.

Addressing the fortification claims, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked, “This is a completely normal practice in such situations,” adding that no further humanitarian pauses were currently scheduled.

The renewed violence comes ahead of planned US-mediated diplomatic discussions scheduled for November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi, according to US special envoy Steve Witkoff. Meanwhile, both nations reported major cyber interference overnight, with Ukraine's primary air raid alert system breached to send false radiation warnings, while Russia's emergency notification application was similarly compromised.

AFP