Dozens dead as Russia strikes Ukraine aid centre in Zaporizhzhia after Oleshky ceasefire expires

The death toll from a Russian bombing of an aid distribution point in Ukraine’s south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region has risen to 40, with dozens still missing, in one of the deadliest strikes on civilians this year.

The attack on Monday came a day after a brief US-brokered local ceasefire expired and less than a week before the United States is due to bring together Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Abu Dhabi for talks on ending the war, now in its fifth year.

Reuters footage on Wednesday showed men in military fatigues loading bodies in white plastic bags into the back of a van in the village of Komyshuvakha, which was struck multiple times.

Excavators were digging up earth near a huge blast crater while rescue workers searched underground for bodies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russian forces first dropped aerial bombs on an underground school building being used as a distribution point as people arrived to collect aid, then struck the shelter with more bombs.

Two members of a rescue crew and four police officers were among the dead, emergency services said.

The strike occurred a day after a six-day ceasefire to evacuate civilians from the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky expired.

The truce, brokered by US first lady Melania Trump, allowed nearly 800 people to be evacuated, according to the first lady.

Mr Zelensky awarded Melania Trump a state honour for her role.

The US will bring together delegations from Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday to discuss ending the conflict, postwar security agreements and de-escalation.