Russian Strikes Kill 26 at Ukraine Aid Centre, Shelter

There are fears that the death toll will rise further as a number of people are still under the rubble

Russian forces struck a humanitarian aid distribution centre and an adjoining shelter in southern Ukraine on Monday, killing 26 people, Ukrainian officials said, as attacks continued despite recent efforts to ease the fighting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strikes initially hit a school building being used to distribute humanitarian assistance before targeting a nearby shelter.

“This is further proof that Russia wants no de-escalation,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

The attacks took place in Komyshuvakha, in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, as a limited ceasefire in the neighbouring Kherson region expired. The temporary truce had facilitated humanitarian aid deliveries and evacuation missions in frontline areas of Russian-occupied territory.

Zelenskyy said the attacks undermined hopes that progress toward peace might be possible and warned that Russia was signalling a continuation of the violence.

In a subsequent address, he said Ukraine was bracing for an escalation of Russian attacks while facing a shortage of missiles needed for its air defences.

Emergency workers searched the rubble of collapsed buildings using flashlights as darkness fell in Komyshuvakha. Around 20 people remained missing, raising fears that the death toll could rise, officials said.

Rescue operations faced further difficulties when Russian drones launched additional attacks in the area, according to Mykhailo Semikin, a military official in Zaporizhzhia.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, authorities reported Russian drone attacks that injured at least 17 people.

Cyberattacks Trigger Fake Emergency Alerts

Residents in Ukraine and Russia received false emergency notifications through government-operated mobile applications after the systems were hacked, authorities in the two countries said.

In Ukraine, the fake alerts included warnings of an imminent nuclear threat. It remained unclear whether the cyberattacks, which occurred late Sunday in Ukraine and early Monday in Russia, were connected.

Ukraine said its emergency alert application, used to warn residents about Russian missile and drone attacks, had resumed operations after a temporary suspension. Russian authorities said efforts to restore their application were continuing.

A Russian Telegram channel linked to the country's security services reported that a hacking group called Hitcore had claimed responsibility for breaching Ukraine's emergency alert system. The claim could not be independently verified, and the hackers' affiliations and motives remained unknown.

The false notifications sent to Ukrainian users warned of high radiation levels, a chemical threat and public disturbances in Kyiv. The messages appeared in English, Russian and Ukrainian, with spelling and grammatical errors in the English versions.

One Russian-language message falsely warned of a nuclear threat across Ukraine and referred to an incoming Oreshnik ballistic missile.

There were few indications that the alerts had caused widespread panic. Some social media users responded with humour, sharing pictures of relaxed pets and artificial intelligence-generated images depicting apocalyptic scenes.

Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine's air force command, said the cyberattack had not affected the country's security and defence operations.

The government urged people to consult alternative emergency information channels on social media while authorities worked to address the breach.

In Russia, the Emergency Situations Ministry said hackers had distributed a false alert through its mobile application at around 2:45am Moscow time on Monday, affecting 33 of the country's 89 regions.

The ministry did not identify those responsible. It said the wider emergency warning system remained operational through text messages, media broadcasts, municipal sirens and loudspeakers.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called on government agencies to strengthen the protection of their digital systems.

“All government bodies must take steps to improve the cybersecurity of our digital resources,” he said.

Limited Ceasefire Expires in Kherson

As the temporary ceasefire in the Kherson region expired on Monday, Ukraine's General Staff accused Russian forces of using the pause to strengthen their drone defences and replenish ammunition supplies.

The brief truce, which began on October 27, was part of a humanitarian aid and evacuation operation in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky.

Meanwhile, emergency services said Russian drone strikes in the eastern Kharkiv region injured 12 people and damaged a refrigeration facility, greenhouses and residential buildings.

Five more people were injured in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, where a warehouse was targeted and several homes were damaged.

Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defences had intercepted 212 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, governor of Russia's Samara region, said local air defence systems were responding to an aerial attack but provided no further details.

Russian media outlets later reported that Ukrainian drones had targeted one of Europe's largest oil transportation hubs in the Samara region.

US-Mediated Russia-Ukraine Talks Planned

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by Washington, were scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11.

In a post on X, Witkoff said the discussions would focus on postwar security arrangements, de-escalation and humanitarian issues.

Russia agreed last month to resume trilateral negotiations with the United States and Ukraine aimed at ending the war, paving the way for the first such talks since February. However, no date had been announced at that time.

Witkoff also said US mediators would meet officials from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO in Brussels this week.

The discussions would focus on security guarantees for Ukraine and the wider region, as well as assistance in rebuilding the war-ravaged country.