In a development that will surprise absolutely no one who has been paying attention for the past two years, Russian bombs struck an aid distribution centre in the village of Komyshuvakha in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing at least 29 people and injuring another 10. Another 48 people are reported missing after at least nine 3,000kg aerial bombs hit the village, according to regional head Mykhailo Semikin. The attack, which President Volodymyr Zelensky called "utterly horrific," hit a local school "used for humanitarian needs" - because nothing says "liberation" like bombing a school-turned-aid-hub.

Zelensky posted a video showing a huge crater left after Monday's attack and rescue teams searching through the rubble. The Russian military, in its usual display of transparency, has not publicly commented. Semikin said on Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 29 and that search and rescue operations were ongoing, writing on Telegram: "The scale of the tragedy is horrific." The numbers had a grim upward trajectory throughout the day: Zelensky initially put the toll at 18, Ukraine's state emergencies service DSNS later confirmed 24 dead - including two rescuers and four police officers - and in his video address late Monday, Zelensky said 26 were known to have died. By Tuesday, it was 29. Because apparently, counting the dead is a moving target when the bombs keep falling.

Zelensky noted that "the Russians could not have been unaware that the local residents who remained in Komyshuvakha received humanitarian aid there every week" on Mondays. "This is yet another proof that Russia does not want any de-escalation." He also referenced 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 - yes, that Melania Trump - saying "there was a moment when the next steps could show that peace is possible." But with such killings, he added, "Russia is sending the exact opposite signal - Russia is counting on further killings." Because why take yes for an answer when you can drop 27,000 kilograms of explosives on a humanitarian aid queue instead?

Semikin described the attack as a "terrible tragedy" for the village and confirmed that "people are still under the rubble." Rescue teams were forced to halt their operation multiple times due to Russian drone attacks in the area - because nothing says "search and rescue" like having to dodge drones while digging for survivors. A day of mourning has been declared for Tuesday across the entire Zaporizhzhia region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the war continues with no end in sight. Teams from Ukraine, Russia, and the US are due to resume peace talks in Abu Dhabi next week, according to US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, who announced it on X. Since the talks were suspended in February, Moscow has stepped up attacks as Kyiv has virtually run out of Western-supplied interceptors to defend against missiles. No major breakthrough is expected - because why would there be? - but Witkoff said discussions would focus on "post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace." Witkoff added that US negotiators would also meet European and Nato officials this week in Brussels. Meanwhile, fighting has returned to the Kherson region after the longest ceasefire of the war, and Ukrainian evacuees have been reuniting with family after years trapped in the Russia-occupied city. So, you know, progress.