Russian Strikes on Zaporizhzhia Aid Site and Shelter Kill at Least 40, Ukraine Says

Russian bomb strikes on Monday hit an aid distribution site and an underground shelter in the village of Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, killing at least 40 people, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday. He said more than 30 people may still be under the rubble as the search entered a third day. Ukraine said nine glide bombs, some weighing 3,000 kg, hit as residents gathered for humanitarian aid at a school, and a follow-up strike hit a shelter full of people. Four police officers and two rescue crew members were among the dead. Earlier tallies were 31 and 37. Acting regional military administration head Mykhailo Semikin called it one of the region's worst civilian tragedies of the war, and three days of mourning were declared. Police released bodycam footage from one of the slain officers, and BBC Verify confirmed it was filmed at the same place as state emergency service footage. The attack came before US-brokered talks with Russia due next week.

The New York Times, the left-leaning outlet here, leads with the fear that this is among the war's deadliest strikes, citing at least 31 dead and dozens missing. It ties the attack to the US statement that peace talks with both countries would resume after nine months. The New York Post, on the right, also reports 31 dead, but leads with the rescue effort, more than 45 missing and Semikin's quote. It adds that Russia fired 289 drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles at nine regions, and it features Zelensky's call to help Ukraine defend its skies. Both rely on the earlier toll and place the strike next to the diplomacy. The BBC and Al Jazeera differ by reporting the toll of 40, the bodycam video and Zelensky's "terrorist strike" charge.