Rescuers in southern Ukraine continued a desperate search on Tuesday for survivors at a bombed aid facility and shelter in Komyshuvakha, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region, where 31 people were killed and 48 remain missing after a Russian strike on Monday.
The attack, which used bunker-busting bombs filled with nearly 1.5 tons of explosives, destroyed a school building repurposed as a humanitarian aid distribution center and a nearby shelter. Four police officers and two rescue workers were among the dead, while at least five others were injured, according to Mykhailo Semikin, acting head of the region’s military administration. Three days of mourning were declared in Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine endured a wave of overnight strikes targeting power plants and hospitals across multiple regions, including Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, and Odesa. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles, and 59 cruise missiles across nine regions, triggering emergency power cuts and widespread damage.
Ukraine Reports Extensive Infrastructure Damage
Ukraine’s state-owned electricity transmitter confirmed emergency shutdowns in six regions, with power outages affecting five, including southern Odesa. DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, reported that three of its thermal power plants stopped generating electricity due to the attacks. The company described the damage as “extensive.”
In Kharkiv, a Russian strike on a hospital injured 73 people and damaged the cardiology department, according to Zelenskyy. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov stated that more than 1,000 windows in the hospital and surrounding buildings were shattered. The attack also wounded at least 62 people in the northeast region, local authorities said.
In the Dnipro area, rescuers pulled a woman alive from the rubble after a Russian attack killed one person and wounded 17. The strike damaged an outpatient clinic and a hospital, forcing patients to be transferred to other facilities.
Russia Acknowledges Strikes on Energy Targets
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed attacks on two thermal power plants in Dnipropetrovsk, one in Vinnytsia, and another in Kharkiv, along with strikes on two electrical substations in Kharkiv. The ministry did not address reports of civilian casualties or hospital damage.
Meanwhile, Ukraine launched a drone strike on an oil refinery in Russia’s Yaroslavl region, injuring two workers, according to the region’s governor, Mikhail Yevrayev. The attack targeted an oil refinery on the outskirts of the regional capital.
International Context and Reactions
Zelenskyy framed the Russian strikes as a deliberate signal coinciding with U.S. elections, stating in an online post: “The Russians think America won’t notice this signal of theirs. But we need to notice and stop such terror.” He urged increased international support to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses, warning that “Russia will never stop its missile strikes” without such measures.
The U.S.-brokered peace negotiations scheduled for next week in the United Arab Emirates were announced as Ukraine faced the latest wave of attacks. The timing of the strikes has raised concerns about escalation amid ongoing diplomatic efforts.