Russia bombed an aid distribution center and nearby shelter in southern Ukraine on Monday, killing at least 24 people, Ukraine’s emergency services said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a message on X that 10 guided bombs targeted an area including a school building used to distribute humanitarian aid and a nearby shelter. “After the first airstrike, there was a double strike with nine more bombs, specifically targeting the shelter where people were hiding,” Zelensky wrote. “This is further proof that Russia does not want de-escalation.”
The attacks in the village of Komyshuvakha in the southern Zaporizhzhia region took place as a limited ceasefire expired Monday in Kherson, another southern region of the country, the AP reports. The limited ceasefire agreement had authorized humanitarian aid and evacuation missions in front-line areas of Russian-occupied territory. “There was a moment when the next steps could have shown that progress toward peace was possible,” Zelensky said. “With these murders, Russia is sending a completely opposite signal: it is counting on more murders.”
As the ceasefire ended on Monday, Ukraine’s General Staff said the Russian military had taken advantage of the pause in fighting to strengthen its defenses against drones and replenish its ammunition reserves. The brief pause in fighting, which began on October 27, was part of a humanitarian aid and evacuation mission in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky and marked the most significant truce between kyiv and Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion began almost five years ago.
Ukrainian authorities also reported several Russian drone attacks on Monday that injured at least 17 people. Previously, residents of Ukraine and Russia received fake emergency alerts from government-run mobile apps that had been hacked, authorities in both countries said. The false alarms in Ukraine included a warning about an imminent nuclear threat.
- It was unclear whether the cyberattacks Sunday night in Ukraine and Monday morning in Russia were related. Ukraine said its mobile app, which residents rely on to protect themselves from Russian missile and drone strikes, was back up and running after being temporarily suspended. Russian authorities said efforts to restore its emergency alert mobile app were underway.
- There is no indication that the false alarms caused panic in Ukraine. Instead, there has been a flood of humorous posts online, with social media users sharing photos of their pets relaxing and apocalypse-themed images generated by artificial intelligence. A shared photo of Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a former international kickboxing champion, included the message: “It’s a good thing that we have a boxer for mayor.”
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