RUSSIAN STRIKE ON UKRAINE AID CENTRE KILLS AT LEAST 26

Russian bombs have killed at least 26 people at an aid distribution centre in Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, regional head Mykhailo Semikin and President Volodymyr Zelensky said. At least nine 3,000kg bombs struck the area on Monday; Zelensky said the first strike hit a local school used for humanitarian purposes before a second bomb hit a shelter where survivors had gathered. Figures for the number injured vary, from five according to Semikin to dozens; officials initially reported 27 people missing, and Semikin said "people are still under the rubble." Zelensky initially said 18 people had died; Ukraine's state emergencies service DSNS said it had confirmed 24 dead, before Zelensky later said 26 people were now known to have died. Zelensky called the attack "utterly horrific," and the Russian military has not commented.

Zelensky said Russian forces "could not have been unaware" that residents who remained in Komyshuvakha received humanitarian aid at the location every week. He said the strike came days after a Russian-Ukrainian operation evacuated civilians from Russian-occupied Oleshky during a ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump. Semikin called the attack a "terrible tragedy" for the village. Zelensky posted video showing a large crater and rescue teams searching the rubble.

Zelensky said that after the Oleshky evacuation, "there was a moment when the next steps could show that peace is possible." He said the attack sent the opposite signal: "Russia is counting on further killings." He said it was further proof that "Russia does not want any de-escalation." The attack comes ahead of proposed trilateral peace talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States, planned for Abu Dhabi later this week.