Russian bombing kills 29 at Ukraine aid distribution centre, officials say

At least 29 people were killed after Russian bombs struck an aid distribution centre in the southern Ukrainian village of Komyshuvakha, in an attack President Volodymyr Zelensky described as "utterly horrific". Regional head Mykhailo Semikin said at least nine 3,000kg aerial bombs hit the village in the Zaporizhzhia region, injuring 10 people and leaving 48 others reported missing. On Tuesday, he said the death toll had risen to 29 and that search and rescue operations were ongoing. "The scale of the tragedy is horrific," he wrote on Telegram. Zelensky said the local school, which he said was "used for humanitarian needs", was struck first, followed by a second attack on the place where people were sheltering. He posted a video showing a huge crater left by Monday's attack and rescue teams searching through the rubble. The president initially put the death toll at 18, but Ukraine's state emergencies service DSNS later said 24 people, including two rescuers and four police officers, were confirmed killed. In a video address late on Monday, Zelensky said 26 people were then known to have died. Officials fear the toll will rise further, with a number of people still under the rubble. Zelensky said the Russians "could not have been unaware" that residents who remained in Komyshuvakha received humanitarian aid there every week. "This is yet another proof that Russia does not want any de-escalation," he said. He noted that after a recent joint Russian-Ukrainian operation to evacuate civilians from the Russia-occupied southern city of Oleshky during a temporary ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, "there was a moment when the next steps could show that peace is possible". "With such killings, Russia is sending the exact opposite signal - Russia is counting on further killings," Zelensky said. Semikin described the attack as a "terrible tragedy" for the village, confirming that people were still under the rubble. He said rescue teams working at the scene had been forced to halt their operation several times because of Russian drone attacks in the area. A day of mourning has been declared for Tuesday across the entire Zaporizhzhia region. The Russian military has not publicly commented on the strike. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Teams from Ukraine, Russia and the US are due to resume peace talks in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates next week, US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said on X. Since the talks were suspended in February, Moscow has stepped up attacks as Kyiv virtually ran out of Western-supplied interceptors to defend against missiles. No major breakthrough is expected at the talks. Witkoff said the discussions would focus on "post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace", and that US negotiators would also meet European and Nato officials this week in Brussels.