Russia targets emergency crews at the site of a deadly strike in
southern Ukraine
[November 09, 2026]
By VASILISA STEPANENKO
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian drone struck emergency workers on
rescue missions in southern Ukraine on Sunday, hitting a former school
and nearby shelter that had been earlier blasted by multiple Russian
guided bombs as residents waited for humanitarian aid, authorities said.
No one was injured in Sunday’s strike on the village of Komyshuvakha,
but specialized rescue equipment was damaged, according to Ukraine’s
State Emergency Service.
Ukraine said Monday's attack on the same location killed at least 55
people, near the front line in the Zaporizhzhia region.
As of Sunday afternoon, 45 people were listed as missing, according to
the acting head of the regional military administration, Mykhailo
Semikin. Many of the bodies recovered have not been identified and DNA
analysis is ongoing.
Village resident Mykola Krasnov, 72, told The Associated Press on
Saturday that he was still looking for his wife, but had heard no word
from rescuers.
“She went to get humanitarian aid, and a 3-ton bomb was dropped there.
Where is she?” he said. “She didn’t come home, and they didn’t find her
body there. She isn’t in the morgue, and she isn’t here alive.”
Ukraine has routinely accused Russia of conducting multiple strikes at
the same site in quick succession to target emergency crews responding
to the initial attack.
The community bids farewell to police officers and neighbors
On Saturday, police officers and relatives gathered in Zaporizhzhia for
a farewell ceremony for six officers killed in Russian strikes on
Komyshuvakha, including four who died near the former school.
Rain fell as families wept beside the coffins, and officers held
portraits of their fallen colleagues.
“They used every skill at their disposal to protect themselves. But when
the enemy deliberately gathered civilians in one place and then launched
strikes against them, no skills could have helped,” said Andrii Khomenko,
a police lieutenant colonel who had worked alongside the victims.
The community also said goodbye to three residents among the dead. Among
those mourning was Yurii Karapetian, whose wife Natalia was killed. He
said she was distributing bread to those in the shelter when the Russian
bombs struck.
“This pain, I would say, is unbearable,” he said, and urged the
international community to act.
“The whole world must understand that if (the Russians) are not stopped,
they will not stop. They will not stop at Ukraine. They will not stop
anywhere,” he said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday called the attack on emergency
crews in Komyshuvakha “absolute cynicism and brutality" in a post on X.
France to join US-mediated Ukraine peace talks
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Sunday that France and
other European representatives would participate in the U.S.-mediated
talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11.
“France will be there and will ensure that Europe’s voice is heard,”
Barrot told RTL radio. He did not specify who would represent France, or
whether European officials would participate directly in negotiations.
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A family member cries beside the coffins of Viktor Fomenko, Natalia
Karapetian and Andrii Anikin, killed in a Russian airstrike that
destroyed an underground school in Komyshuvakha, during a farewell
ceremony in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026. (AP
Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
The talks were previously presented as a trilateral meeting between
Washington, Moscow and Kyiv, with U.S. President Donald Trump
predicting a “very big” deal with Russia extending beyond Ukraine to
“all of Europe". This raised concerns that European countries might
be sidelined in negotiations over their own security.
Zelenskyy calls for sanctions on suppliers of Russian missiles
Russian strikes in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region have left more
than 600,000 people without power, Zelenskyy wrote on X on Sunday.
Russia's defense ministry claimed its forces had struck an
electrical substation that powered Ukrainian “military-industrial
enterprises”. Other regions in Ukraine also faced outages.
Russia launched 115 missiles, 1,900 guided aerial bombs and more
than 3,000 drones against Ukraine in the past week, Zelenskyy said
on X. Many of the missiles had been produced this year, he added,
calling on Ukraine's partners to sanction entities involved in their
production.
“If the world does not have enough anti-ballistic capabilities to
protect Ukrainian skies, then the missiles must be stopped on the
production lines," he said.
Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant loses external power supply
The Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest
in Europe, has lost its external power supply after a damaged power
line was disconnected for safety, the plant’s management reported
Sunday.
It said the plant was powered by backup diesel generators since an
automatic protection system shut down the damaged Ferosplavna line.
Ukraine's state nuclear operator, Energoatom, also reported on
Sunday that the plant was relying on generators.
The plant went offline soon after being captured by Russia early in
the war, but needs power to keep essential cooling systems running.
Its external power supply has periodically been severed, raising
fears of a nuclear accident in case of protracted outages, as Moscow
and Kyiv blamed each other for strikes that damaged nearby power
lines.
Russia and Ukraine exchange drone strikes
Russia launched 164 drones across Ukraine overnight into Sunday, 137
of which were shot down, the Ukrainian Air Force said that morning.
Hours later, one person was killed and three others injured as
Russian forces struck a residential neighbourhood in Dnipro,
according to local administration head Oleksandr Hanzha.
Russia’s defense ministry said Sunday that its forces destroyed 142
Ukrainian drones during the night — including over Russia,
Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine and the Azov Sea.
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