Ukraine Strike Death Toll Reaches 42 Ahead of Renewed Peace Talks
Negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States are scheduled to resume as Ukraine reports a deadly bombing and a Russian newspaper prepares to close.
By Hassan Okoye ·
The death toll from a Russian attack in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region reached 42 on November 5, with as many as 33 people still feared trapped beneath rubble, according to the State Emergency Service. The destruction comes ahead of talks between US, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators scheduled for November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi.
Ukraine said Russian forces dropped at least 10 bombs on November 2 in an attack on a school where residents were collecting humanitarian aid. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strike as “vile,” saying rescue workers and people seeking shelter were targeted after the first impact. Dog teams and mine-clearing personnel continued searching the debris days later.
The bombing occurred a day after a localized six-day cease-fire expired in Oleshky, a Russian-held city in the southern Kherson region. The pause allowed hungry residents to leave and was observed by both sides, although Russian attacks continued outside the region. US first lady Melania Trump, who chiefly brokered the arrangement, was scheduled to receive representatives from Russia and Ukraine at the White House on November 5.
Russian officials suggested further humanitarian operations were possible, but President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman cautioned against treating the Oleshky agreement as a sign of progress toward ending the wider war. Putin has repeatedly rejected proposals for a comprehensive cease-fire, including one from US President Donald Trump, maintaining that fighting can end after a full peace agreement.
The Abu Dhabi meeting will restart direct, US-mediated negotiations after a lengthy interruption while Trump concentrated on the war with Iran. Tatyana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, wrote on X that some developments pointed toward slow movement toward an agreement. She nevertheless expressed skepticism about substantial progress and questioned whether any eventual agreement could produce a lasting settlement.
The talks also follow US elections that gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress for the remaining two years of Trump’s presidency. His administration recently waived newly approved sanctions against Russia and reached an agreement with Putin to supply Russian diesel to US and international markets. Richard Fontaine, chief executive of the Center for a New American Security, said Democrats could challenge the diesel agreement and provide military assistance to Ukraine, while emphasizing the president’s continuing advantages in directing foreign policy.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Novaya Gazeta newspaper is preparing to shut its Moscow operation after sustained state pressure. Authorities began removing its remaining staff from their editorial offices on October 29. Editors announced that they would switch off the servers and leave on November 9, ending three decades in the building. A Paris-based edition, Novaya Gazeta Europe, continues operating abroad.
The closure comes 20 years after Novaya Gazeta investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered in her Moscow apartment building on October 7, 2006. Known for documenting rights abuses in Russia and Chechnya, she was shot while returning from buying groceries. The newspaper, founded with support from Mikhail Gorbachev, is closing five years after editor Dmitry Muratov shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
