Raid on aid centre in Zaporizhzhia, today Melania Trump brings Kyiv and Moscow together

A Russian air strike on a humanitarian aid distribution centre in Ukraine has reopened the dispute over responsibility for the war, on the same day that the White House brings together, for the first time after months of deadlock, delegations from Kyiv and Moscow.

On Monday, November 2, a raid hit a former school in the village of Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region, which was being used as an aid distribution point. In the following days the death toll rose to at least 37-40, with dozens still missing under the rubble according to Ukrainian sources, as reported by CBS News and Jornal de Notícias.

The United Nations human rights mission in Ukraine condemned the attack, calling it a probable violation of international law. Mission head Danielle Bell stressed that the time and location of the distribution were widely known to Russian forces: “Russian armed forces knew that an aid distribution was taking place,” she stated, according to Le Temps.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence gave an opposite version, claiming to have struck Ukrainian military units in the vicinity of the village and denying that civilians had been targeted. Meanwhile, regional authorities in Zaporizhzhia declared three days of mourning, from November 3 to 5, for the victims of the attack.

On the diplomatic front, the White House announced that First Lady Melania Trump will bring together representatives from Russia and Ukraine today, November 5, according to Lenta.ru — a Russian news agency — and confirmed by Tagesspiegel. The meeting comes after the First Lady mediated a local truce in Oleshky, in the Kherson region, to allow evacuations and the passage of humanitarian aid. For that contribution, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded her the Order of Princess Olga.

The Kremlin issued a note of caution regarding the details of the meeting. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not yet have precise information about the Russian delegation: “We have no information on who will represent Russia at the meeting.”

While awaiting the outcome of the summit, the European Commission took a step toward disbursing the remaining 45 billion euros of the 90 billion euro support loan intended for Ukraine for 2027, as reported by the European Documentation Centre of the University of Almería. The financial track is thus proceeding on a separate line from today’s diplomatic talks.

Figures on the attack’s victims remain partly unreconciled between sources: the Ukrainian regional toll indicates 37-40 dead with missing persons yet to be recovered, while the overall picture remains subject to updates in the coming hours. The meeting at the White House represents the first direct attempt, mediated by a non-institutional figure such as the US First Lady, to bring the two parties back to the same table after the end of the Oleshky truce. It remains to be seen what level of representation Moscow will send, given that the Kremlin itself has not yet confirmed the names of the delegates expected in the American capital.