Russia drops nine 3-ton bombs on Ukraine relief center... At least 33 deaths (comprehensive)

(Seoul, Rome = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Shin-young, Correspondent Min Gyeong-rak = Russia bombed a Ukrainian relief center, killing at least 33 people.

According to the AFP news agency and the British BBC on the 3rd (local time), at least nine 3-ton bombs were dropped from the air on a relief material distribution center in Komyshvakha, Zaporizhia Oblast, southern Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first airstrike was on a school building used for humanitarian purposes, followed by a second attack on a place where people had taken refuge.

The number of victims counted by rescue authorities is rapidly increasing.

President Zelensky initially announced the death toll from this airstrike as 18, but the death toll rose to 33. As the number of missing people is still high, the death toll is expected to increase further.

“Five people have been rescued, but more than 50 may still be trapped under the rubble,” President Zelensky said, calling it “one of the largest massacres committed by Russia in this war.”

At the same time, he said, “There is no way Russia does not know that local residents in Komyşvaha have been visiting the facility every week and receiving humanitarian aid,” and criticized this airstrike as “further evidence that Russia does not want to ease tensions.”

According to the Associated Press, this airstrike was carried out immediately after the expiration of a local ceasefire that had been in effect in Oleshkiyi, southern Ukraine, occupied by Russia, mediated by U.S. President Donald Trump's wife, Melania.

President Zelensky said that there was a moment when a local ceasefire went into effect and civilians were evacuated to show that peace was possible, but he pointed out, "With these killings, Russia is sending the opposite signal."

“People are still trapped under the rubble,” said Mikhail Semikhin, head of the Zaporozhye oblast, calling the Russian attack a “terrible tragedy.”

He said rescue operations were underway, but the work had been halted several times due to continued Russian drone attacks.

Ukraine declared three days of mourning throughout Zaporizhia to commemorate the victims.

Ukraine plans to resume negotiations in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the mediation of the United States within a few days.

However, the general opinion is that the differences in opinions between the warring parties regarding the conditions for the end of the war are so great that the possibility of a meaningful breakthrough in the talks is unclear.