Russian airstrikes killed at least 18 people in a village in southeastern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region Monday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, condemning the attack as "utterly horrific" and warning that the violence undermined hopes for progress toward peace.
Zelenskyy said Russian forces had repeatedly targeted the settlement with aerial bombs since the morning, striking a school being used as a humanitarian aid distribution center.
"Since this morning, the settlement has been hit several times by aerial bombs. The strikes targeted a school used for humanitarian purposes – people were receiving humanitarian aid there," Zelenskyy wrote on social media.
"Tragically, 18 people have already been reported killed," he added.
The Ukrainian president said the deadly bombardment further diminished prospects for diplomatic progress toward ending the war.
The attack came as Kyiv accused Moscow of exploiting a rare, U.S.-backed humanitarian cease-fire in the southern Kherson region last week to reinforce its military positions.
Nearly 800 people were evacuated from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky during a six-day pause in fighting, according to U.S. first lady Melania Trump, whom the White House credited with helping broker the arrangement.
Both Ukraine and Russia had previously welcomed the humanitarian initiative as a success.
However, Ukraine's General Staff alleged Monday that Russian forces used the temporary cease-fire to rotate troops, strengthen defensive positions and improve battlefield logistics.
"Under the ceasefire introduced for the humanitarian operation in Oleshky, units of the Defence Forces of Ukraine ensured that the ceasefire was observed and acted exclusively within the framework of the agreements reached," the General Staff said in a statement on X.
"The enemy, by contrast, used the humanitarian pause to improve its positions," it added.
The Kremlin did not directly confirm or deny the allegations.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he had no specific information about troop movements during the cease-fire but described adjustments to military positions during such pauses as standard practice.
Peskov also suggested that Ukrainian forces had likely taken similar measures during the temporary halt in hostilities.
The competing accounts highlighted continued tensions between Moscow and Kyiv despite limited humanitarian cooperation, while the latest deadly strikes in Zaporizhzhia raised further concerns about prospects for a broader peace agreement.
