Russian bombs kill 31 at a Ukrainian aid hub as the US sets peace talks in Abu Dhabi for Nov. 10-11

Every Monday, the people still living in Komyshuvakha, a frontline village in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, gathered at the local school to collect humanitarian aid. This Monday, Russian aircraft bombed it twice.

At least 31 people were killed and nearly 50 were missing as of Tuesday, Mykhailo Semikin, the acting head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said in a televised interview, according to Ukrinform. The region declared three days of mourning, from Nov. 3 to Nov. 5. Semikin called it one of the deadliest attacks in Zaporizhzhia since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, Ukrinform reported.

Hours after the attack, the United States announced it would bring Russian and Ukrainian negotiators together in Abu Dhabi next week, the first U.S.-mediated talks between the two sides since February.

What happened in Komyshuvakha

The school had not held classes for some time because the village sits too close to the front line. It served instead as a shelter and as a weekly distribution point for aid, Al Jazeera reported.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first aerial bombs struck as residents were arriving. Russian aircraft then returned for a second strike with nine more bombs aimed directly at the shelter where people had gathered, he wrote on Telegram.

Emergency services said two rescuers and four police officers were among the dead, Reuters reported. Two more rescue workers were being treated in hospital. Footage released by Ukraine’s emergency service showed the building reduced to smoldering rubble.

“This is yet further proof that Russia does not want any kind of de-escalation, any real justice,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry gave a different account, saying its forces had targeted Ukrainian military units around Komyshuvakha and two other settlements in the region, Modern Diplomacy reported, citing Reuters. Moscow has consistently denied targeting civilians.

The end of a short truce

The attack came a day after a six-day local ceasefire around Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in the Kherson region, expired. The pause, which the United States said was brokered by first lady Melania Trump, allowed aid deliveries and evacuations and was the longest of the war, according to Al Jazeera.

Zelenskyy had pointed to the truce as a possible opening. With the Komyshuvakha strike, he said, Russia was sending the opposite signal.

The escalation did not stop there. Overnight into Tuesday, Russia launched another large wave of missiles and drones. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said energy infrastructure was hit in 10 regions and three DTEK power plants halted generation, Ukrinform reported, and a hospital in Kharkiv was struck, injuring dozens, according to Ukrainian officials. Zelenskyy had warned on Monday that Moscow was preparing a massive strike while the world focused on the U.S. midterms, the Kyiv Post reported.

What is on the table in Abu Dhabi

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff announced the talks in a post on X, saying the United States would mediate working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on Nov. 10 and 11 in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. According to Witkoff, as reported by Il Sole 24 Ore and Al Jazeera, the agenda includes:

Post-war security arrangements
De-escalation
Humanitarian measures
Next steps toward ending the war

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the dates. Russian media reported that Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin who led Moscow’s delegation in earlier rounds, will head the Russian team, Interfax-Ukraine said.

The last U.S.-mediated talks between the two sides took place in February, before the United States and Israel went to war with Iran, Reuters reported. U.S. negotiators have been seeking a breakthrough before winter.

Why expectations are low

The talks are billed as working-level, not a summit, and the gap between the two sides remains wide. Kyiv has insisted that no deal on ending the war can be reached without Ukraine at the table, the Kyiv Post reported. Questions over territory and security guarantees for Ukraine after any ceasefire have sunk earlier rounds.

Russia’s battlefield strategy also points away from compromise. The Institute for the Study of War said in its Nov. 2 assessment that Russia intensified its long-range strike campaign in October, using jet-powered drones and other weapons to make civilian life in Ukraine harder. The think tank described Putin’s theory of victory as resting on that campaign, the Kyiv Post reported.

Meanwhile, the Kyiv Post reported that President Donald Trump is considering inviting Zelenskyy to the Group of 20 summit in Miami in December, a sign Washington wants something to show by then.

The cyber front

The weekend also brought a new kind of attack. Late Sunday, Ukraine’s Air Alert app sent users fake warnings of nuclear and chemical threats around Kyiv, street fighting and a launch of Russia’s Oreshnik missile. Ukraine’s Air Force quickly said there was no radiation threat. Hours later, Russia’s emergencies ministry said its own warning app had been hit by what it called a massive cyberattack. It appears to be the first time either country’s official alert app has been hacked, Al Jazeera reported.

What to watch

The final death toll in Komyshuvakha as search and rescue continues.
Whether the Abu Dhabi talks go ahead as scheduled after this week’s strikes.
Who leads Ukraine’s delegation, and whether Washington brings any new pressure on Moscow.
Further Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid as winter approaches.

Our earlier report covers Russia’s record losses in October.