At least 26 people were killed after repeated Russian airstrikes struck a local school being used for humanitarian aid distribution in Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian officials reported on Monday. The bombardment took place in a village near the Kherson region just hours after a rare local ceasefire expired without reported violations, dampening fragile hopes for diplomatic movement.
The attack hit civilians who had gathered to receive aid. In his daily address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that humanitarian assistance was routinely provided at the facility every Monday. "The Russians carried out the first strike just as people arrived — several aerial bombs. Then there was a repeat strike — more aerial bombs, this time targeting the shelter," Zelenskyy said. He reflected that after the recent truce, "there was a moment when the next steps could have shown that progress toward peace was possible." Footage released by Ukrainian emergency services showed rescuers operating among smouldering rubble at the leveled building.
The temporary pause in fighting, which began on Tuesday and ended on Sunday, was brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump to enable a humanitarian mission to the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky. Ukrainian authorities described it as the longest truce of the conflict, noting that neither side reported breaches while it was active. The initiative facilitated civilian evacuations from Oleshky into both Ukrainian-controlled territory and Moscow-annexed Crimea. The operation was managed by Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets and Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova, representing a rare high-level cooperative effort between the two nations.
Following the expiration of the truce, Russian military strikes resumed in the south. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not deny the strikes on Monday, telling reporters, "This is a completely normal practice in such situations." Peskov stated that Ukrainian forces had previously used pauses in fighting to regroup. However, Peskov described the Oleshky evacuation as "successful" and praised the "good cooperation between all sides," specifically citing Lantratova's work. The Kremlin added that no additional humanitarian missions are being planned "at the moment." US-led talks involving Ukraine and Russia are scheduled to resume later this month.
