At least 26 people were killed and five others injured after Russian airstrikes struck a school being used as a humanitarian aid distribution center in Ukraine's
southern Zaporizhzhia region on Monday. The attacks targeted the village of Komyshuvakha, where residents who remained in the area regularly received humanitarian assistance. Ukrainian officials said multiple aerial bombs hit the site, with a second wave of strikes targeting the place where people had taken shelter after the initial attack. Regional head Mykhailo Semikin said at least nine 3,000 kg aerial bombs hit the village. He initially reported that 27 people were missing after the strikes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as "utterly horrific". He said the first bomb struck a local school being used for humanitarian purposes, followed by another attack on the shelter where people had gathered.
Rescuers Among Those Killed In Second Strike
Ukraine's State Emergency Service (DSNS) initially confirmed 24 deaths, including two rescuers and four police officers. Zelensky later said the death toll had risen to 26.
Emergency teams continued searching through the rubble, with officials warning that people could still be trapped underneath. Rescue operations were reportedly interrupted several times because of Russian drone attacks in the area.
Zelensky said Russian forces could not have been unaware that local residents received humanitarian aid at the location every week. He accused Moscow of sending a message against de-escalation through the killings.
The strikes came less than a day after a temporary six-day humanitarian ceasefire in and around the Russia-occupied city of Oleshky in the neighboring Kherson region expired. Zelensky said a recent joint operation by Russia and Ukraine to evacuate civilians from Oleshky during the truce had offered an opportunity for further steps towards peace.
"With such killings, Russia is sending the exact opposite signal - Russia is counting on further killings," he said. Semikin called the attack a "terrible tragedy" and said people remained under the rubble. A day of mourning was declared across the Zaporizhzhia region for Tuesday.
The Russian military has not publicly commented on the strikes.
