Russian glide bombs kill at least 53 at aid point in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region

Strikes on an aid point

On Monday, 2 November 2026, people gathered at a school in the village of Komyshuvakha in Zaporizhzhia Oblast to collect food and humanitarian aid. Ukrainian reports say Russian forces first dropped nine guided glide bombs on the site as the crowd assembled. The KAB is an old Soviet aerial bomb fitted with wings and a basic satellite guidance kit, which lets aircraft release it roughly 70 kilometres from the front, beyond the reach of Ukrainian air defences. Classes at the school had been suspended because of the nearby front, but the building still served as a shelter, an administration point and an aid distribution site.

A second wave on rescuers

Police, rescuers and volunteers rushed to the site after the first impact, and people sheltered in an underground bunker beneath the school. A second series of explosions followed. Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as a double-tap strike, a second hit on the place where rescuers and civilians had gathered after the first. He said Russian forces first struck the people who came for aid, then the rescuers and police who arrived at the scene. Zaporizhzhia authorities said Russian forces used KAB-500 guided bombs and then a heavy FAB-3000 bomb, which weighs about three tonnes and can contain up to 1.4 tonnes of explosive. The bunker sat in a newly reinforced part of the building and was meant to withstand most blasts, but the heavy bomb pierced its structure. Police later released body-camera footage showing people running back toward the shelter before an explosion and a red flash.

Death toll and search

The regional administration said the toll had risen to at least 53 by Friday, 6 November, which Ukrainian reporting describes as the deadliest Russian attack this year. The State Emergency Service (DSNS) had reported 50 dead on the same day, while Zelensky had reported 43 dead on Thursday, 5 November. Ukrainian media say the dead include civilians, four police officers and two rescuers, and five people were wounded. Zelensky's latest update put the number of missing at more than 30. Rescue teams are still working through a large crater at the school site, despite the risk of further strikes. Ukrainian reporting compared the toll with the strike on the Kramatorsk railway station on 8 April 2022, which killed 63 passengers.

Aid distribution and reaction

According to the UN observation mission, the location and hours of the Monday distributions had been posted on a social media channel followed by nearly 5,000 people. Residents came to the site every Monday for food and other essentials. Zelensky wrote on X that the world's reaction to the attack had been very weak. He said the attack, like thousands of other war crimes Russia has committed against Ukraine, demands a strong response.