Russia bombs Ukraine aid site after truce collapses, killing 26

Russia pounded Ukraine with repeat aerial strikes that killed 26 people, Ukrainian officials said, wiping out the fragile optimism left behind by the war's longest pause in fighting. Survivors described a double-tap attack on a humanitarian aid distribution point: bombs hit as people gathered, then more bombs fell on those who ran for cover. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a deliberate strike on a rescue scene, saying Moscow is betting on more killing rather than peace.

The dead include local officials and first responders. Acting regional governor Mykhailo Semikin said on Telegram that two rescue workers and four police officers were among those killed. The rescue service named the two as Denys Konovalenko and Oleksy Sushchevsky, both 44, describing men who ran toward danger every day to pull others out of it.

Zelenskyy framed the bloodshed as a direct answer to last week's truce. After that Oleshky ceasefire, he said, there was a moment when the next steps could have proved that progress toward peace was possible. Instead, he said, Russia sent the opposite signal — and demanded a response.

That ceasefire stands as the most substantial stretch of Russian-Ukrainian cooperation since the invasion began, allowing an evacuation from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky. People were moved to Ukrainian-controlled territory and to Moscow-annexed Crimea. A senior Ukrainian figure told AFP that Russia refused Kyiv's offer to extend it, and Ukraine's military accused Moscow of using the pause to fortify its positions. The Kremlin didn't deny it: spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that topping up defensive positions is completely normal in such situations, and he accused Ukraine of regrouping during past pauses too.

Moscow chalked the mission up as a success. Peskov praised cooperation between all sides and singled out Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova, who oversaw the truce alongside her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets. But the Kremlin said no similar missions are planned right now. US-led talks between Russia and Ukraine are set to resume this month in Abu Dhabi, with President Donald Trump pushing for a settlement that hasn't yet materialised — while Kyiv and its European allies worry he's tilting toward Moscow.

The deterioration extended into cyberspace. Both countries said overnight that their emergency warning apps had been hacked after the truce collapsed. Ukraine suspects its air raid alert system was compromised after baseless radiation-threat alerts went out to millions — a system that normally delivers vital warnings about incoming drones and missiles. Russia said an app from its emergency situations ministry was hacked too, though it isn't widely used there. Meanwhile, Russia has escalated its attacks this year with ballistic missiles and fast jet-powered drones, both difficult to intercept.