KYIV/STOCKHOLM — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said deadly Russian strikes on an aid distribution centre in southeastern Ukraine dashed hopes of progress toward peace following a localized truce last week, calling the attack 'utterly horrific.'
At least 26 people were killed and five others injured when Russian forces launched aerial bomb attacks on the Komyshuvakha settlement in the Zaporizhzhia region on Monday. Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said Russian forces fired at least nine KAB-3000 bombs on the village throughout the day, targeting a school functioning as an aid distribution centre. Ukrainian emergency services said two members of a rescue crew were among the dead after falling victim to what officials described as a double-tap strike, in which a location is targeted again with the aim of hitting first responders.
The attack took place less than 24 hours after a localized six-day humanitarian ceasefire in and around the town of Oleshky in the neighboring Kherson region had expired. That truce had facilitated civilian evacuations from Russian-occupied territory. Zelenskyy said the temporary ceasefire had raised hopes that progress toward a peace deal was possible, but the strikes on Komyshuvakha showed Russia was 'sending an entirely opposite signal' and 'counting on more killings.'
'After the humanitarian operation in Oleshky, there was a moment when the next steps could have shown that progress toward peace was possible,' Zelenskyy wrote on X. 'But this attack proves Russia is counting on more killings.'
Images from the scene shared by Ukraine's State Emergency Service showed a building reduced to a pile of rubble and what appeared to be a burned-out bus. The Zaporizhzhia region has been targeted repeatedly for months by heavy Russian airstrikes. Authorities in Kherson said Russia had resumed attacks on the region on Monday following a drone strike on the Korabelny district.
A 62-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man sustained blast injuries in the attack on Kherson. There was no immediate comment from Russian authorities on the strikes.
The bombardment casts a dark shadow over fragile diplomatic momentum ahead of proposed trilateral peace talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the United States in Abu Dhabi later this week.
