Russian strikes kill at least 38 civilians in Ukraine as Abu Dhabi talks are announced
Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least 38 civilians and injured scores over 24 hours. The deadliest attack destroyed a school serving as a humanitarian-aid distribution center in Komyshuvakha, while other strikes hit medical facilities and critical infrastructure in Dnipro, Kharkiv and Donetsk. Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced that Russia would join US-brokered trilateral peace talks with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11.
Key points
- At least 38 civilians were killed and scores were injured across Ukraine over 24 hours.
- At least 33 people died in a glide-bomb attack on a school and aid center in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region.
- Nine 3,000-kilogram aerial bombs struck Komyshuvakha, collapsing the aid center's roof and trapping many people.
- Nearly 50 terminally ill patients were evacuated from a hospice destroyed in Dnipro; the oldest was 90.
- A hospital strike in Kharkiv wounded 73 people, most of them elderly patients.
- Russia hit energy infrastructure in nine regions, fully cutting off Kyiv's water supply and forcing the metro network to suspend service.
- The planned Abu Dhabi meeting would be the first trilateral talks since February.
Why it matters
The attacks caused at least 38 civilian deaths and injured scores of others, with the UN describing civilian casualties in Ukraine as being at a record level. The Komyshuvakha strike alone killed at least 33 people, and more than 50 may initially have been trapped beneath the rubble. Strikes on hospitals and a hospice endangered terminally ill patients, elderly patients and aid recipients, while damage to energy infrastructure disrupted water, heating and electricity services across nine regions, fully cutting off Kyiv's water supply and suspending its metro network.
What happened
Russia's 24-hour bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 38 civilians and injured scores of others. The deadliest strike occurred on Monday night in Komyshuvakha, where nine 3,000-kilogram glide bombs hit a school being used as a highly publicized humanitarian-aid distribution center. At least 33 people were killed, and the roof collapsed, trapping many people beneath the rubble; more than 50 may initially have been trapped.
Other attacks hit civilian and medical infrastructure. A Russian missile destroyed a hospice in Dnipro, where nearly 50 terminally ill patients were subsequently evacuated or transferred to other facilities; the oldest was 90 years old. A separate Dnipro strike killed two people and wounded 18. In Kharkiv, a hospital strike wounded 73 people, mostly elderly patients. Aerial-bomb and drone attacks in Donetsk killed five people.
Russia also struck energy infrastructure in nine Ukrainian regions, affecting water and heating services. Kyiv lost its entire water supply because of attacks and damage to the city's energy infrastructure, and its metro network was suspended on Tuesday. At the same time, the Kremlin announced Russia's participation in US-brokered trilateral peace talks with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian officials emphasized the scale of civilian losses and the targeting of a clearly publicized humanitarian-aid distribution center. President Volodymyr Zelensky described the Komyshuvakha strike as one of Russia's largest mass killings during the war and linked it to Russia's response to Ukraine's ceasefire proposal. Ukrainian authorities also highlighted the danger to vulnerable groups, including terminally ill patients evacuated from the destroyed Dnipro hospice and elderly patients wounded in Kharkiv, along with the disruption to water, heating and electricity services.
How international sources describe it
International coverage focused on the record level of civilian casualties and the apparent breach of fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. The UN human rights monitoring mission said the Komyshuvakha attack appeared to violate those principles. Reporting also highlighted the damage to civilian infrastructure, including an aid center, hospice, hospital and energy facilities, while the announced Abu Dhabi talks provided a diplomatic counterpoint to the escalation.
Where reporting differs
Russia's defense ministry said the Komyshuvakha attack targeted Ukrainian military units and killed 25 servicemen. However, BBC News Russian defense correspondent reporting cited by the sources found no credible evidence that the site was used by the military and noted that Komyshuvakha had no major military or industrial facilities. Zelensky separately presented the attack as Russia's response to Ukraine's ceasefire proposal.
Background
The Komyshuvakha school was operating as a highly publicized humanitarian-aid distribution center when it was struck. Komyshuvakha lies southeast of Zaporizhzhia and forms part of Ukraine's defensive and transport network on the approaches to the regional capital. The Abu Dhabi meeting would be the first trilateral meeting since February, and Ukraine had proposed extending and expanding the previous week's Kherson ceasefire, which had enabled residents of the Russian-occupied frontline town of Oleshky to evacuate. A strike on Dnipro railway station had killed 15 people on October 29.