Zaporizhzhia: 26 Dead as Ukrainian Ceasefire Ends
The deaths occurred in a southern village during an aid distribution, prompting new US-led talks in Abu Dhabi next week.
By Lucas Sheridan ·
Twenty-six people died in a Russian strike on a village in the Zaporizhzhia region on Monday, Ukrainian officials reported. The casualties included police officers, rescue workers, and civilians receiving humanitarian aid. The attack followed the expiration of a local ceasefire in the neighboring Kherson region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the sequence of events, stating that aerial bombs hit a school while people gathered for a weekly food distribution. A subsequent attack struck the shelter where survivors had taken cover. Video from the emergency services showed rescuers clearing smoldering debris where the building had stood. Acting regional governor Mykhailo Semikin confirmed that two rescue workers and four police officers were among the dead.
The emergency service identified the fallen rescuers as Denys Konovalenko and Oleksy Sushchevsky, both age 44. Zelensky argued that the recent truce offered a chance to show that peace was possible, but the killings communicated the opposite message. The previous ceasefire, which lasted from Tuesday to Sunday, was brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump to facilitate a humanitarian mission in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky.
During that pause, neither side reported violations. The break allowed residents to evacuate to Ukrainian-controlled territory or the Crimea region. Kyiv stated that Russia resumed attacks on Kherson immediately after the agreement lapsed. A senior Ukrainian official told AFP on Sunday that Moscow had rejected Kyiv's proposal to extend the truce. Ukraine's military accused Russian forces of using the interval to strengthen their positions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not deny the accusation on Monday. He described such activity as normal and alleged that Ukrainian troops had previously used pauses to regroup. Peskov called the Oleshky mission successful and praised the cooperation between Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova and her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Lubinets. The Kremlin indicated that no comparable missions were currently planned.
The war entered its fifth year on Monday, having killed hundreds of thousands of people. Diplomatic efforts are set to continue next week. US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Monday that American-led negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would resume in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. President Donald Trump has sought a settlement, though Kyiv and European allies have expressed concern that he has aligned himself more closely with Moscow.
Cyberattacks also targeted emergency warning applications in both countries shortly after the ceasefire ended. Ukrainian authorities said they suspected their air raid alert system was compromised after millions of people received false radiation warnings. Moscow reported a similar hack affecting an app operated by its emergency situations ministry, though that app sees limited use in Russia.
