31 dead in Russian strike on Ukrainian shelter

Rescuers in southern Ukraine continued an intense search Tuesday for survivors at a bombed-out aid facility and shelter where at least 31 people were killed and dozens were still missing.

Emergency workers and volunteers picked through debris at the cratered blast site in Komyshuvakha, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region. Bodies were pulled from the rubble and carried away in white plastic sheeting. More than 45 residents remained unaccounted for as of Tuesday.

Mykhailo Semikin, acting head of the region’s military administration, described the incident as one of the worst tragedies in the region 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 in the Monday attack, which involved Russian bunker-busting bombs containing nearly 1.5 tons of explosives.

The strike occurred as Ukraine prepared for a new round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations scheduled for next week. A wave of overnight strikes targeted power plants across the country, damaging hospitals and wounding scores of people. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles across nine regions.

Zelenskyy stated that the barrage coincided with U.S. elections, suggesting Moscow believed the United States would not notice the signal. He urged allies to help Ukraine defend its skies to stop the missile strikes.

In the Kharkiv region, a combined Russian missile and drone attack wounded at least 62 people. A strike damaged a medical facility in the Nemyshlianskyi district, shattering windows in four apartment buildings and damaging cars. Over 200 patients were transferred to other medical facilities, according to Oleh Syniehubov, head of the regional military administration.

Ukrainian power utility DTEK reported that three of its power plants halted operations after sustained attacks. Moscow reported shooting down 856 Ukrainian drones overnight, while a Ukrainian drone attack wounded two employees at an oil refinery in Yaroslavl. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that negotiations in Abu Dhabi will focus on postwar security arrangements and humanitarian efforts.