Zaporizhia aid strike kills 50

Ukrainian authorities confirmed on Friday that at least 50 people died when Russian forces struck an aid distribution center in the Zaporizhia region. Acting regional governor Mykhailo Semikin later raised the confirmed death count to 53. Search teams remained active in the debris field on Friday, marking the fifth consecutive day of recovery operations.

The attack occurred on Monday at a former school in the village of Komyshuvakha, located near the front lines. Civilians used the building for weekly aid handouts. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that a second wave of bombs targeted the underground shelter where residents had taken cover. He described the incident as a double-tap strike involving nine additional bombs specifically aimed at the shelter.

Local police reported that 59 people were listed as missing as of Wednesday. Officials noted that some of those individuals might already be accounted for among the recovered bodies. Police estimated that up to 39 people could still be trapped under the rubble. Specialists collected DNA samples to identify victims while rescue workers faced ongoing threats from Russian attacks.

Zelenskyy called the bombardment a vile terrorist strike, saying it showed Moscow's refusal to stop fighting. Four police officers and two rescue workers were among the confirmed dead. The UN human rights mission in Ukraine assessed that the strike likely violated international law.

The bombing happened one day after a six-day ceasefire expired in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky. Tensions remained high as both sides exchanged drone attacks on Thursday. Several people were injured in those exchanges, including a child. In the eastern Donetsk region, Russian strikes on Wednesday killed four civilians and wounded five others.

Delegations from Kyiv and Moscow are scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. The United States is brokering the talks, which follow earlier rounds of negotiation that produced limited results.