Zaporizhzhia aid center hit by Russian bombs, killing 26
Rescue workers and police are among those killed in Komyshuvakha as Zelenskyy links the strike to a stalled ceasefire.
By Dominic Foster ·
Russian forces bombarded an aid distribution center and a neighboring school shelter in the village of Komyshuvakha on Monday, killing at least 26 people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the death toll in a video address, noting that the village is located in the south-eastern Zaporizhzhia region, close to the frontline.
Emergency services reported that two rescue crew members and four police officers were among the dead. Five individuals, including two additional rescue workers, were hospitalized. Regina Kharchenko, the secretary of the Zaporizhzhia city council, stated that 27 people remained missing as night fell. Local officials posted images online showing responders using torches to search through the rubble of the collapsed structures.
Zelenskyy described the sequence of events, saying Russian forces dropped aerial bombs on the school just as residents arrived to collect humanitarian packages. A second strike with more air bombs then targeted the shelter. He called the action a vile terrorist strike, arguing that Moscow knew the residents gathered there weekly for assistance.
Mykhailo Semikin, a military official in Zaporizhzhia, said rescue efforts were hindered on Monday evening when Russian drones launched further attacks on the area. The school had no classes that day because of its proximity to active fighting.
The attack occurred one week after a ceasefire in the southern city of Oleshky allowed for the evacuation of civilians from Russian-occupied territory. Zelenskyy said the bombing showed Moscow preferred killing people over building on that pause in fighting. He added that if Russia wanted de-escalation, it had an opportunity to take humanitarian steps after the Oleshky situation.
The war has entered its fifth year, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of displaced people. The Kremlin stated on Monday that no similar evacuation missions were planned at the moment. Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy, said talks between Russia and Ukraine would resume on November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi.
President Donald Trump has pushed for a settlement in the conflict, but no breakthrough has yet occurred. European allies and Kyiv express concern that the US president has increasingly sided with Moscow during these negotiations.
