A Russian bombing on Monday targeted an aid distribution centre and a neighbouring shelter in southern Ukraine, killing at least 26 people. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and emergency services confirmed the toll.
President Zelenskyy stated in his nightly video address that Russian forces dropped initial aerial bombs on a village school. The building was being used as a shelter and a hub for distributing humanitarian assistance.
Classes were not being held at the school because the village of Komyshuvakha sat too close to the frontline. The settlement is situated south-east of the regional hub of Zaporizhzhia, the Ukrainian leader explained.
“The Russians struck first just as people were arriving, a few aerial bombs,” Zelenskyy said. “Then there was a second strike, more air bombs, this time on the shelter. A vile terrorist strike.”
As night fell over Komyshuvakha, emergency responders used torches to search through the rubble of the collapsed structures. Photographs and video footage published by local officials captured the scene. Regina Kharchenko, secretary of the Zaporizhzhia city council, reported that 27 people remained missing following the bombardment.
Rescue operations on Monday evening faced severe obstacles. Russian drones launched follow-up attacks on the same targeted area, according to Mykhailo Semikin, a military official in Zaporizhzhia.
Zelenskyy argued that Russian forces must have known residents in Komyshuvakha gathered weekly to collect humanitarian packages from the location. He added that the attack showed Moscow intended to kill civilians rather than build upon a recent ceasefire in the southern city of Oleshky.
The Oleshky ceasefire, brokered by US first lady Melania Trump, allowed for the evacuation of the Russian-occupied city last week. It marked the longest pause in fighting during the five-year war, a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.
The Kremlin stated that no similar humanitarian missions were planned at the present time. US special envoy Steve Witkoff announced that US-led negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would resume on 10 November and 11 in Abu Dhabi.
President Donald Trump has pushed for a settlement to end the protracted war, though no breakthrough has been achieved. The upcoming discussions arrive as Kyiv and its European allies express concern that Trump has increasingly aligned with Moscow.
