Russian bombs hit aid distribution school in Zaporizhzhia, at least 24 dead

The strike on Komyshuvakha

Russian aerial bombs hit Komyshuvakha, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region about 25 kilometres east of Zaporizhzhia city, on the morning of Monday, 2 November. Ukraine's State Emergency Service put the death toll at no fewer than 24, including two rescuers and four police officers, and reported five injured. According to the German report, the village lies just over a dozen kilometres from the front line.

How the attack unfolded

Zelensky said the school in the village was used for humanitarian purposes and that people were receiving aid there when it was struck. He said that after the first bombing, nine more bombs were dropped on a shelter where people had taken cover. Mykhailo Semykin, acting head of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration, said guided FAB-3000 bombs hit the centre of the village while people were collecting aid. The emergency service said rescuers and police who arrived at the site faced a risk of renewed shelling, moved into a shelter, and were then struck again. The service listed damage to a sports hall, a utility building, a school building and a fire-rescue vehicle.

Death toll and search

An earlier count, issued when 18 deaths were known, listed 27 people as missing, according to Regina Kharchenko, secretary of the Zaporizhzhia city council. Semykin said drone attacks forced rescue work to be interrupted. Teams are still searching the rubble, and Zelensky said the toll could still rise.

Zelensky, early report18

State Emergency Service, latest24

Zelensky, early report

18 people killed

State Emergency Service, latest

24 people killed

Data from the article text

Zelensky's response and Russia's silence

Zelensky tied the strike to an earlier humanitarian operation in Oleshky, which he said had opened a point where next steps could have shown progress toward peace.

“There was a moment when the next steps could have shown that progress toward peace was possible.”

He argued that the attack on Komyshuvakha showed the opposite.

“With these killings, Russia is sending an entirely opposite signal: Russia is counting on more killings.”

Zelensky also said residents who stayed in Komyshuvakha had received humanitarian aid at the same site every week, and he called for a strong and firm response from the world. The Russian military had not commented on the strike when the reports were published.

A pattern of strikes on Zaporizhzhia

The region near the front has been repeatedly hit by heavy Russian air attacks in recent months, and the reports differ on an earlier strike on Zaporizhzhia city in mid-October. One account put the toll at at least 17 dead, including three children, while another put it at 23 dead, including four minors. Zelensky accused Moscow after that attack as well.