Russian forces on Monday bombed a school used to hand out humanitarian aid in Komyshuvakha, a village in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. On Tuesday, regional head Mykhailo Semikin said the death toll had risen to 29, the BBC reported. Search and rescue work was continuing.
The toll rose several times. President Volodymyr Zelensky first put it at 18. The state emergency service then confirmed 24 dead, including two rescuers and four police officers. In his video address late on Monday, Zelensky said 26 people had died.
According to the BBC, Semikin said 10 people were injured and 48 were missing. Earlier, Regina Kharchenko, secretary of the Zaporizhzhia city council, said 27 people were missing. The Guardian reported that five people were in hospital, two of them rescue workers.
Zelensky said Russian forces first dropped aerial bombs on the school. The village is too close to the frontline for classes, so the building served as a shelter and aid point. He said a second strike with nine more bombs then hit the shelter where people had gathered. According to the BBC, Semikin said the bombs weighed 3,000kg each.
Zelensky said Russia must have known that residents collected aid at the site every week. He called it "a vile terrorist strike" and said it was more proof that Russia does not want de-escalation. Semikin called the attack a "terrible tragedy". He said Russian drone attacks forced rescuers to stop work several times. A day of mourning was declared across the region for Tuesday.
The attack came a day after a six-day local ceasefire ended. US first lady Melania Trump brokered the truce to bring aid into Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in Kherson region, and to evacuate residents. The Guardian said it was the longest pause in fighting in the war, now in its fifth year. Zelensky said that after the Oleshky operation there had been a moment when the next steps could show peace was possible. The Kremlin said no similar missions were planned "at the moment".
US special envoy Steve Witkoff said teams from Ukraine, Russia and the US would resume peace talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. He said the talks would cover post-war security, de-escalation and humanitarian efforts. According to the BBC, no major breakthrough is expected. Witkoff said US negotiators would also meet European and Nato officials in Brussels this week.