Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°16°CTCT30°17°PretoriaPTA31°17°DurbanDBN27°64%

Russian bombing of Ukrainian aid point kills 40 people

Published

Officials said 59 people are still missing after Russian aerial bombs hit an underground school used to hand out aid in Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region, on Monday. Russia's defence ministry said it targeted Ukrainian soldiers.

Ivan Fedorov, co-head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Defence Council, gave the number of missing people. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces first dropped aerial bombs on the school building, then struck the shelter with more bombs. Ukraine's national police said several strikes hit the area, including one from a 3 tonne FAB glide bomb.

Russia's defence ministry said the attack targeted Ukrainian military units around Komyshuvakha and two other settlements. It said up to 25 Ukrainian servicemen were killed. Russia and Ukraine both deny deliberately targeting civilians.

Delegations from Ukraine and Russia will hold talks in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November, convened by the United States. US first lady Melania Trump brokered a six-day local ceasefire to evacuate civilians from Oleshky. She said nearly 800 people were evacuated.

Key facts

Who
Volodymyr Zelensky (Ukrainian President); Ivan Fedorov (co-head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Defence Council); Steve Witkoff (US envoy); Melania Trump (US first lady, brokered a six-day local ceasefire to evacuate civilians from…)
What
Russian aerial bombs struck an underground school building used as an aid distribution point in Komyshuvakha, Ukraine, on Monday; the death toll reached 40 with 59 people reported missing by Ivan Fedorov. Russia's defence ministry said it targeted Ukrainian military units and that up to 25 Ukrainian servicemen were killed.
When
3 November 2026
Where
Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll
  2. IEC says local election voting went largely smoothly
  3. IEC says about 12 million had voted by 5pm

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update