Russian bombing kills 31 people at Ukraine aid centre, Kyiv says

At least 31 people have been killed after Russian bombs hit an aid distribution centre in Zaporizhia, the Ukrainian regional head has said, describing it as one of the deadliest attacks there since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Mykhailo Semikin said at least nine 3,000kg aerial bombs hit the village of Komyshuvakha in southern Ukraine on Monday and the aid centre collapsed from a "direct hit".

"They had come for help - not to a military facility, not to a frontline position, but to a place where they were supposed to receive support," he wrote on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack "utterly horrific" and said there were still people "under the rubble".

Zelensky posted a video showing a huge crater left after Monday's attack and rescuers searching for survivors.

However, officials say teams have at times been forced to halt their search because of Russian drone attacks in the area.

Zelensky said after the first strike on the local school "used for humanitarian needs", there was a second attack on the place where people were sheltering.

He earlier said that "the Russians could not have been unaware that the local residents who remained in Komyshuvakha received humanitarian aid there every week" on Monday.

The Russian military has not publicly commented.

Three days of mourning have been declared in the region.

The death toll has continued to rise on Tuesday. Earlier, when 29 people were confirmed to have died, Semikin said another 10 had been injured and 48 were reported missing.

Among the dead are two rescuers and four police officers, according to Ukraine's state emergencies service DSNS.

Zelensky said the attack was "yet another proof that Russia does not want any de-escalation".

He said that after a recent successful joint Russian-Ukrainian operation to evacuate civilians from the Russia-occupied southern city of Oleshky during a temporary ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump,"there was a moment when the next steps could show that peace is possible".

"With such killings, Russia is sending the exact opposite signal - Russia is counting on further killings," Zelensky said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Teams from Ukraine, Russia and the US are due to resume peace talks in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, next week, US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said on X.

Since the talks were suspended in February, Moscow has stepped up attacks as Kyiv virtually ran out of Western-supplied interceptors to defend against missiles.

No major breakthrough is expected at the talks. Witkoff said the discussions would focus on "post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace".

Witkoff said US negotiators would also meet European and Nato officials this week in Brussels.