Russia Strikes Aid Center in Zaporizhzhia, Killing 31

Russian forces struck an aid facility and shelter in the southern village of Komyshuvakha on Monday, killing at least 31 people. Emergency crews and volunteers searched the debris on Tuesday, pulling bodies from the rubble wrapped in white plastic sheeting. More than 45 residents remain unaccounted for. Mykhailo Semikin, the acting head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, described the event as one of the worst tragedies for civilian victims in the region since the full-scale war began.

The strike occurred as Ukraine prepared for U.S.-brokered peace negotiations scheduled for next week. Overnight, Russian forces launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles, and 59 cruise missiles across nine regions. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the attacks coincided with U.S. elections. He argued that Russia believed America would not notice the signal, but he called for increased defense of Ukrainian skies to stop the missile strikes.

Zaporizhzhia authorities declared three days of mourning. Russian bunker-busting bombs, some containing nearly 1.5 tons of explosives, were used in the Monday attack. The dead included four police officers and two rescue workers. At least five other people were injured in the blast.

A combined missile and drone attack in the northeast Kharkiv region wounded at least 62 people. Local officials said the strike damaged a medical facility in the Nemyshlianskyi district, shattered windows in four apartment buildings, and damaged cars. Oleh Syniehubov, the regional military administrator, reported that more than 200 patients were moved to other medical facilities. In the Dnipro area, rescuers pulled a woman from the rubble on Tuesday morning after an attack that killed one person and wounded 17. Oleksandr Hanzha, the regional administrator, confirmed that an outpatient clinic and a hospital were damaged.

Ukraine’s energy ministry reported 20 strikes on power plants and energy infrastructure in 10 regions overnight. The utility company DTEK said three of its power plants halted operations after sustaining damage, though no injuries were reported. Moscow’s Ministry of Defense claimed it shot down 856 Ukrainian drones. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated that 493 drones were fired toward the Russian capital. In Yaroslavl, a drone attack wounded two employees at an oil refinery and damaged infrastructure. Rolling blackouts were implemented in parts of Russian-occupied Crimea.

Zelenskyy traveled to Germany on Tuesday to hold consultations with European leaders. These meetings precede the U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10 and 11. Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy, confirmed the date late Monday. The negotiations will focus on postwar security, de-escalation, and humanitarian efforts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Russian delegation will attend. The European Commission will host a meeting Wednesday with officials from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU, NATO, Ukraine, the U.S., and the World Bank to discuss postwar reconstruction.