Russian bombs killed at least 26 people at an aid distribution centre and a neighbouring shelter in southern Ukraine on 2 November.^[1] The attack hit Komyshuvakha, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region.^[2] It came less than 24 hours after a ceasefire in the Kherson region expired.^[3] That truce was the longest in the war since 2022.^[4] Six days later, Ukraine reported that the attack had killed at least 55 people.^[5] Two lines run through the reporting from nine outlets. The first is timing: the deadliest strike of the week landed the day the longest pause ended, and eight days before talks were due to open. The second is the count. Every new figure for the dead ran higher than the one before it. The counts of the missing, published in the first two days, were already large enough to account for the rise. What was hit The site was a school used to hand out humanitarian aid.^[6] Komyshuvakha sits about 20 kilometres from the front line.^[7] Russian aircraft dropped guided bombs on the village on 2 November.^[8] The first strike hit the school.^[9] A second strike, with nine bombs, hit the bomb shelter where people had taken cover.^[10] Deutsche Welle, in a report carried by the Times of Oman, said the strikes used more than 10 glide bombs.^[11] The attack destroyed a gymnasium, an outbuilding and a fire truck, the Kyiv Independent reported.^[12] Rescue workers were among the dead. Two rescue crew members and four police officers were killed, Al Jazeera reported.^[13] Deutsche Welle said the two rescue crew members died in a double-tap strike that targeted first responders.^[14] Further Russian drone strikes slowed the rescue.^[15] On 8 November, a Russian drone struck emergency workers on rescue missions in southern Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.^[16] No one was injured in that strike, but specialised rescue equipment was damaged.^[17] How the count rose Early wire reports gave 26 dead.^[18] The same figure appeared in reporting by SBS.^[19] It also appeared in reporting by the Australian Associated Press.^[20] The Daily Pioneer carried it as well.^[21] The regional count then rose. Governor Mykhailo Semikin reported the casualty figures carried by Censor.net.^[22] That count put the dead at 29.^[23] Al Jazeera then reported at least 31 killed.^[24] By 3 November, the Kyiv Independent reported at least 33 dead.^[25] On 8 November, Ukraine put the toll at at least 55.^[5] DNA analysis was still under way for bodies that had not been identified.^[26] The wounded figure held steady across the early reports. Deutsche Welle said five people were injured.^[18] The regional count also listed five wounded.^[27] Al Jazeera reported five people in hospital.^[28] The missing figures ran in two bands. The Associated Press, in a report carried by CP24, said about 20 people were missing on the day of the strike.^[29] The Daily Pioneer gave the same figure.^[30] The regional count put the missing at 48.^[31] Zelensky said more than 50 people might be trapped under rubble.^[32] Search and rescue work was still going on on 3 November.^[33] On 8 November, around 50 people were still listed as missing.^[34] Set side by side, the figures show a toll that more than doubled, from 26 to 55, over six days. The regional count of 48 missing, published in the first days, was larger than the first reported death toll. The number of wounded stayed at five through the early reports while the number of dead kept rising. The truce that ended The ceasefire covered the Oleshky area of the Kherson region. It ran six days, was brokered by Melania Trump, and expired without violations, SBS reported.^[35] It expired on 2 November, the day of the strike.^[36] Ukraine offered to extend it, and Russia refused.^[37] Both sides spoke about how the pause was used. Ukraine's general staff said Russia used the Kherson ceasefire to resupply.^[38] Ukraine also said Russia used the pause to fortify its positions.^[39] Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said using pauses in fighting to regroup is normal practice.^[40] What the leaders said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strikes utterly horrific.^[41] He said Russia knew the site was used for humanitarian aid.^[42] He said the attack showed Russia does not want de-escalation.^[43] Ukraine said the strikes ended hopes for progress toward peace.^[44] A farewell ceremony for the victims was held in Zaporizhzhia on 7 November.^[45] Zelenskyy called for sanctions on the suppliers of Russia's missiles.^[46] The rest of the war that week The aid centre was not the only target. Russian drone attacks injured at least 17 people in other parts of Ukraine on the day of the strike.^[47] Drone strikes injured 12 people in the Kharkiv region.^[48] Five people were injured in an attack on a warehouse in Odesa.^[49] Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces shot down 212 Ukrainian drones overnight.^[50] Over one week, Russia launched 115 missiles, 1,900 guided bombs and more than 3,000 drones against Ukraine.^[51] The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost external power and ran on backup generators.^[52] Ukrainian intelligence warned that Russia plans a massive attack on energy and logistics networks.^[53] The conflict also reached the warning systems. Hacked government mobile apps sent false emergency alerts in both Ukraine and Russia.^[54] Russia hacked Ukraine's Air Alert app and sent fake warnings of a nuclear attack, the Australian Associated Press reported.^[55] Ukraine hacked Russia's air raid alert system in retaliation.^[56] The talks The United States announced Ukraine-Russia peace talks for 10 and 11 November in Abu Dhabi.^[57] The United States was to mediate working-level negotiations between the two sides.^[58] US envoy Steve Witkoff was set to meet the Ukrainian and Russian delegations there.^[59] US negotiators were also due to meet European allies in Brussels later that week.^[60] A multinational force of 2,800 troops planned its first exercise in support of Ukraine.^[61] The exercise runs from 9 to 22 November in Poland.^[62] The force will deploy only if Ukraine and Russia agree a ceasefire.^[63] The record so far The sequence in the reporting is plain. The longest truce of the war expired on 2 November.^[36] Russia had refused to extend it.^[37] The strike on Komyshuvakha came less than 24 hours later.^[3] The dead numbered 26 in the first reports.^[1] Al Jazeera's later count was at least 31.^[24] Six days after the strike, Ukraine put the toll at at least 55.^[5] Around 50 people were still listed as missing.^[34]