Updated November 3, 2026, evening ET — This story continues Zark News’ coverage of Monday’s strike on Komyshuvakha. Read our earlier report here.
KYIV, Ukraine — The confirmed death toll from Russia’s bombing of a school used as a humanitarian aid distribution point in the village of Komyshuvakha has risen to at least 31, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday, with nearly 50 people still missing in the rubble.
Mykhailo Semikin, acting head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, gave the updated figures in a live television broadcast, according to Reuters. The Associated Press also reported at least 31 killed and more than 45 unaccounted for. The figures remained provisional as rescue crews kept working through the wreckage on Tuesday.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday evening that 26 people had been confirmed dead. He called the attack “utterly horrific,” the BBC reported. Ukrainian officials said at least nine 3,000-kilogram aerial bombs struck the village in the southern Zaporizhzhia region on Monday.
Zelenskyy said the first bombs hit a local school being used for humanitarian needs, where residents gathered each week to collect aid, and a second wave struck the place where people had taken shelter. Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said the dead included two of its own rescue workers and four police officers. Five people were injured.
Russia’s Defense Ministry offered a sharply different account, saying its forces had targeted Ukrainian military units in areas around Komyshuvakha and two other settlements, and claiming up to 25 Ukrainian servicemen were killed along with 15 vehicles and an electronic warfare station. There was no independent confirmation of Moscow’s claim.
Talks announced hours after the strike
Hours after Zelenskyy reported the attack, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff announced that the United States will mediate working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi on November 10–11, CNN reported.
“The United States will mediate working-level negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on November 10–11 in Abu Dhabi, advancing President Trump’s mission to end the war,” Witkoff wrote on X on Monday. He said discussions would focus on “post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace.”
Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to represent Washington in Abu Dhabi, a senior U.S. official told Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to the new trilateral format after meeting Witkoff in St. Petersburg two weeks ago, the Geneva Times reported. U.S. negotiators will also meet officials from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU and NATO in Brussels this week to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.
The Zaporizhzhia region declared Tuesday a day of mourning for the victims, EU Today reported.
Sources: Reuters; Associated Press; BBC; CNN; TBS News; The Geneva Times. This is a developing story.
