Ukraine War: Rescuers search rubble as drones hit power grid
A second night of recovery efforts unfolded in Zaporizhzhia after 31 civilians died in shelter strikes, while a massive Russian air raid damaged infrastructure across nine regions.
By Ethan Cook ·
Emergency teams worked through a second night on Tuesday to recover bodies from a destroyed aid distribution site in Komyshuvakha, a village in southern Ukraine. The death toll from Monday's attacks reached 31, while more than 45 residents remained missing. Workers pulled bodies from the cratered rubble and wrapped them in white plastic sheeting as they continued their search.
The strikes hit a shelter and a former school that residents used for humanitarian aid. Mykhailo Semikin, acting head of the regional military administration, described the event as one of the worst civilian tragedies in the Zaporizhzhia region since the full-scale invasion began. Three days of mourning were declared in the region. The dead included four police officers and two rescue workers.
A wave of Russian attacks overnight into Tuesday targeted power plants and other infrastructure across the country. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia launched 289 attack drones, 17 ballistic missiles, and 59 cruise missiles across nine regions. The barrage triggered emergency power cuts. Zelenskyy noted the timing coincided with U.S. midterm elections and argued that Moscow believed the United States would not react strongly to the strikes.
Ukraine's energy ministry stated that Russia carried out 20 strikes in 10 regions, causing extensive damage to energy infrastructure. The Ukrainian power utility DTEK reported that three of its plants halted operations. No injuries were reported at the power plants. In the northeastern Kharkiv region, a missile and drone attack wounded at least 62 people. Local authorities said the strike damaged a medical facility and forced the transfer of more than 200 patients to other hospitals.
In the Dnipro area, rescuers pulled a woman from the rubble on Tuesday morning after an attack killed one person and wounded 17. The strikes damaged an outpatient clinic and a hospital. Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the regional military administration, confirmed that patients were moved to other facilities. In Russian-occupied Crimea, rolling blackouts were instituted in the south, west, and east following attacks on energy infrastructure.
Zelenskyy is in Berlin for consultations with European leaders ahead of U.S.-mediated peace talks scheduled for Nov. 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi. Steve Witkoff, the special envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump, confirmed the dates. The Kremlin stated that a Russian delegation would attend. Zelenskyy said Ukraine's priorities include halting strikes on critical infrastructure, unblocking Black Sea grain shipments, and expanding prisoner exchanges.
The European Commission announced it will host a meeting Wednesday with officials from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU, NATO, the United States, and the World Bank. The group will discuss postwar reconstruction in Ukraine. A Ukrainian delegation is expected to attend the session.
Zelenskyy told the Berlin Security Conference that Ukraine will not surrender despite the difficult period. He said America has significant influence to push Russian President Vladimir Putin toward negotiations. Russia agreed last month to resume three-way negotiations with Washington and Kyiv, marking the first such talks since February.
