Russian strike on a Ukrainian aid site kills at least 31
A Russian attack on the village of Komyshuvakha in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region killed at least 31 people who had gathered at a school to receive humanitarian aid, with a follow-up strike hitting a nearby shelter, according to AP and Ukrainian officials. Dozens of people were still missing. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched 289 drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles overnight across nine regions, and the U.S. plans to host working-level peace talks in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11. Read at AP News →
The Mongol siege of Kyiv
What happened then
In late 1240 a Mongol army under Batu Khan, with the general Subutai, besieged Kyiv, then one of the great cities of Eastern Europe. By the reckoning of the historian Alexander Maiorov, the siege lasted only nine days, from November 28 to December 6. Catapults battered the walls until they were breached, and the defenders fought street by street.
What caused it
The Mongols had invaded the Rus' principalities in 1237, destroying Ryazan, Vladimir and other cities, and taking Pereyaslav and Chernihiv in 1239. When they demanded Kyiv's submission, their envoys were killed. The city's princes were divided: its ruler, Daniel of Galicia-Volhynia, was in Hungary seeking allies, leaving a commander named Dmytro to defend it.
How it was resolved
On the last night many residents crowded into the Church of the Tithes, Kyiv's first stone church, and according to the chronicles the church's gallery collapsed under their weight during the final assault. The Mongols sacked and burned the city. By one widely cited estimate, only about 2,000 of some 50,000 inhabitants survived. Dmytro, wounded, was reportedly spared for his bravery.
How it turned out
The fall of Kyiv opened the way for the Mongols to push west into Poland and Hungary. The Rus' princes, including Kyiv's ruler Daniel, were forced to travel to Sarai, capital of Batu's new Golden Horde, to submit, and Mongol officials began collecting tribute in Kyiv and other cities.
Sources: Wikipedia: Siege of Kiev (1240) · Wikipedia: Church of the Tithes
Further reading: The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Serhii Plokhy