Ukraine's rescuers deal with grim aftermath of aid shelter bombings as
Moscow pounds energy targets
[November 04, 2026]
By DEREK GATOPOULOS, VOLODYMYR YURCHUK and GEIR MOULSON
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Rescuers worked for a second night in a desperate
search for survivors Tuesday at an aid distribution site destroyed by a
series of Russian attacks in a village in southern Ukraine. The death
toll reached 31 as they removed bodies throughout the day and looked for
dozens of people still missing.
Monday's attacks on a shelter and former school with bunker-busting
bombs came as people were lined up for aid in Komyshuvakha, a village in
the Zaporizhzhia region. Teams of emergency workers and volunteers
picked through debris at the cratered blast sites, as bodies were pulled
from the rubble and carried away in white plastic sheeting. More than 45
residents remained missing.
“The scale of the tragedy is terrifying,” said Mykhailo Semikin, acting
head of the region’s military administration, in an online post. “This
is one of the worst tragedies in terms of the number of civilian victims
in our region since the start of the full-scale war.”
As Ukraine prepared for a new round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations
next week, more than 4 1/2 years after Russia's all-out invasion, a wave
of strikes overnight into Tuesday targeted power plants across the
country, damaged hospitals and wounded scores of people.
Russia launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise
missiles across nine regions, triggering emergency power cuts, President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an online post that noted the barrage
coincided with the U.S. midterm elections.
“The Russians think America won’t notice this signal of theirs,” he
said. “But we need to notice and stop such terror. We need to help
Ukraine defend its skies; otherwise, Russia will never stop its missile
strikes.”
A volunteer describes the aftermath
Baptist pastor Vladyslav Makhovskyi joined the search for survivors,
removing bodies and helping elderly Komyshuvakha residents swaddled in
blankets.
He told The Associated Press the attack on the shelter was “truly
devastating” and a shock to residents who had sought cover there.
The shelter was sturdy and had provided internet access and other
assistance, and “was a place they trusted,” Makhovskyi said.
"People even came there to spend the night because they felt safer
there,” he added. “I’d been in that school and its underground shelters
many times.”
It was struck by a Russian bomb "so powerful that it broke through the
heavily reinforced concrete blocks," he said. “The job's not done. There
are more (bodies) in there.”
Bodies wrapped in white plastic sheets were carried from the ruins and
laid in rows as smoke drifted across the shattered landscape. Rescue
efforts were interrupted Tuesday by menacing Russian drones, forcing
soldiers to halt recovery operations and open fire to try to bring them
down.
Three days of mourning were declared in Zaporizhzhia. The dead included
four police officers and two rescue workers, Semikin said. At least five
people were hurt.
Zelenskyy had said on X that the strikes first targeted the former
school that was used for regular distributions of humanitarian aid and
then took aim at a nearby shelter.
“This is further proof that Russia wants no de-escalation,” he said.
Attacks intensified after humanitarian ceasefire
The attack came after the expiration of a six-day ceasefire in the
Russian-occupied city of Oleshky that allowed trapped residents to
evacuate. It was the most significant truce between Kyiv and Moscow
since 2022.
“We offered to Russia to extend the cease-fire in Oleshky, but this was
the answer: new attacks, new strikes, new killings of our people,”
Zelenskyy said in Berlin, where he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
and attended a security conference.
In the northeastern region of Kharkiv, a Russian missile and drone
attack wounded at least 62 people, local authorities said.
A strike damaged a medical facility in the Nemyshlianskyi district,
shattered windows in four apartment buildings and damaged cars. More
than 200 patients were transferred to other medical facilities, said
Oleh Syniehubov, head of the regional military administration.
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In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a
residential building is seen following a Russian air attack in
Dnipro, Ukraine, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service
via AP)
In the Dnipro area, rescuers pulled a woman alive from the rubble
Tuesday morning, after a Russian attack killed one person and
wounded 17, local authorities said.
The attack damaged an outpatient clinic and a hospital. Patients
were transferred to other hospitals, Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the
regional military administration, said.
Power plants pounded in latest barrage
Russia attacked more power plants and other infrastructure ahead of
winter, causing extensive damage and electricity outages as it
carried out 20 strikes in 10 regions overnight, Ukraine’s energy
ministry said.
Ukrainian power utility DTEK said three of its power plants halted
operations. No injuries were reported.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down 856 Ukrainian drones
overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 493 drones were fired
toward the capital.
A Ukrainian drone attack wounded two employees at an oil refinery in
the Russian city of Yaroslavl, regional Gov. Mikhail Yevrayev said,
adding there was damage to the refinery’s infrastructure.
Rolling blackouts have been instituted in the south, west and east
of Russian-occupied Crimea following attacks on energy
infrastructure, Moscow-installed officials said.
Zelenskyy consults with Europeans ahead of peace talks
Zelenskyy's trip to Germany began a new round of consultations with
European leaders ahead of U.S.-mediated peace talks Nov. 10-11 in
Abu Dhabi.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff,
confirmed the dates of the talks, with negotiations to focus on
postwar security arrangements, de-escalation and humanitarian
efforts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed a Russian
delegation will attend.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s priorities for the talks were halting
strikes on energy and critical infrastructure, unblocking Black Sea
grain shipments and expanding prisoner exchanges.
He said he hoped those talks and other diplomatic efforts would pave
the way for trilateral talks among the countries leaders, which he
said were needed to resolve key issues.
“Europe’s involvement in the process — in achieving peace — is
essential," he said. "We are doing everything possible to ensure
that we have a common European view of all the security challenges
and of how this war should end and what its outcome should be.”
Zelenskyy told the Berlin Security Conference that even though his
country is experiencing an extremely difficult period, “Ukraine will
never surrender.”
Asked if he still believes the U.S. can bring an end to the war,
Zelenskyy replied: “President Trump is still president.” He added
that “America has huge influence and power” to push Russian
President Vladimir Putin toward negotiations.”
Russia agreed last month to resume three-way negotiations with
Washington and Kyiv aimed at ending the war, setting up the first
such talks since February.
The European Commission said it would host a meeting Wednesday with
officials from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European
Union, NATO, the United States and the World Bank to discuss postwar
reconstruction in Ukraine. Zelenskyy said a Ukrainian delegation
would attend.
___
Moulson reported from Berlin. Susie Blann in Kyiv, Ukraine, and
Elise Morton and Brian Melley in London contributed.
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