Russian strikes kill 31 at Ukrainian aid site in Zaporizhzhia; dozens missing

At least 31 people died after Russian guided bombs struck an aid distribution centre and shelter in the village of Komyshuvakha in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. Rescue workers and volunteers continued searching the cratered site on Tuesday, 3 November 2026, with more than 45 residents still missing. The dead included four police officers and two rescue workers. At least five people were injured at the location.

Acting head of the regional military administration Mykhailo Semikin described the scale of the tragedy as one of the worst for civilian casualties in the region since the start of the full-scale war. Bodies were recovered from the rubble and carried away in white plastic sheeting. The attack first hit a school building used to distribute humanitarian aid and then struck a nearby underground shelter.

The strikes formed part of a larger overnight barrage. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles across nine regions. The attacks triggered emergency power cuts and damaged power plants and hospitals. Zelenskyy noted that the timing coincided with the US midterm elections and said the Russians appeared to believe the United States would not notice the signal.

In the Kharkiv region a combined missile and drone attack wounded at least 62 people. A strike damaged a medical facility in the Nemyshlianskyi district, shattered windows in four apartment buildings and damaged cars. Across the country the barrage hit energy infrastructure and civilian sites simultaneously with the aid-centre attack.

Emergency teams worked through the day at Komyshuvakha, picking through debris in the hope of locating additional survivors under the rubble. The site showed a deep crater and extensive structural collapse. Local authorities have not released a final count of the missing beyond the figure of more than 45. Identification of the dead continues as more remains are recovered.

The incident adds to the cumulative civilian toll from Russian strikes on aid distribution points and shelters. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated that such locations are marked and known to be used for civilian humanitarian purposes. The presence of police and rescue workers among the dead indicates that response teams were on site when the second strike occurred.

Power disruptions from the wider barrage affected multiple regions. Hospitals reported damage and temporary interruptions in service. The combination of drones and both ballistic and cruise missiles suggests a mixed package designed to saturate air defences while striking fixed targets. Zelenskyy’s public comment linked the timing directly to the American election calendar.

Search operations at the Zaporizhzhia site remained active into Tuesday evening. Volunteers supplemented professional rescue crews. The white sheeting used for body transport was visible in photographs from the scene. No independent verification of the exact number of missing has been published beyond the regional administration’s figure.

The larger attack wave struck energy nodes in several oblasts, consistent with previous Russian campaigns against Ukraine’s power grid. Emergency cuts were imposed to stabilise the system. Damage assessments for generation and transmission facilities were still underway. Civilian casualties outside the aid site were reported primarily from the Kharkiv strikes.

Ukrainian authorities have documented the sequence of munitions and the specific targeting of the aid facility. The dual strike on the distribution point and the shelter suggests sequential aiming rather than a single impact. Recovery of survivors, if any remain under the debris, will determine whether the death toll rises further. The regional administration continues to update the count as identification proceeds.

The timing relative to the US election day has been noted by Ukrainian leadership as intentional signalling. The volume of munitions expended in a single night indicates sustained production and launch capacity. For residents of Komyshuvakha the immediate consequence is the loss of the local aid distribution point and the ongoing search for those still unaccounted for beneath the rubble.