Russian bombs struck a shelter and aid distribution centre in Komyshuvakha, killing at least 40 people. The attack deepens civilian losses days before planned Ukraine-Russia talks.
At least 40 people have been killed and 59 remain missing after a Russian bombing struck a humanitarian aid distribution centre in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, officials said. The attack is among the deadliest strikes on civilians this year.
The bombing took place on Monday in the village of Komyshuvakha, where an underground school building was being used as a shelter and a distribution point for humanitarian aid. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces first dropped aerial bombs on the facility as residents arrived to collect aid, before striking it again.
Rescue operations were underway on Wednesday, with emergency workers using excavators to search through the rubble and recover bodies near a massive blast crater. Reuters footage showed personnel loading bodies wrapped in white plastic bags into a van.
Ivan Fedorov, co-head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Defense Council, said in a Telegram post that 59 people were still missing. Two rescue workers and four police officers were among those killed, emergency services said.
The school had stopped conducting classes because of its proximity to the frontline. Komyshuvakha is located around 17 km from the nearest Russian positions but continued to serve as a shelter and distribute humanitarian aid every Monday.
The World Central Kitchen (WCK), which provides food and water to the community, said the facility was a humanitarian and administrative centre for local residents.
“This strike hit a place where a community was organizing help for its own residents,” said Yuliya Stefanyuk, WCK’s response director for Ukraine.
Russia’s Defence Ministry, however, said its forces had targeted Ukrainian military units in and around Komyshuvakha and two other settlements, claiming that up to 25 Ukrainian servicemen were killed. Both Moscow and Kyiv deny deliberately targeting civilians.
DRAMATIC BODYCAM FOOTAGE
Dramatic bodycam footage from one of the police officers killed in the attack, released by Ukrainian police showed the aftermath of the initial strikes, including rubble and severely damaged buildings.
The officer is heard warning that the area was under threat from drones before briefly taking shelter inside a bombed-out building.
Later, around 15 to 20 civilians are seen gathering near the entrance to an underground shelter when a radio warning announces that Russian glide bombs are heading towards the village. Residents rush down several flights of stairs towards a room as the officer moves into what appears to be a temporary police station.
Three other men and a woman are visible in the final frames before a massive explosion is heard and the camera goes black.
Ukrainian police said several strikes hit the area, including one involving a three-tonne FAB glide bomb. Such bombs are fitted with glide kits that allow them to travel long distances after being released from Russian aircraft. Defence intelligence websites estimate that a three-tonne glide bomb can carry around 1.4 tonnes of explosives.
The attack came a day after a six-day ceasefire, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky, expired.
Melania Trump said nearly 800 people were evacuated under the truce. Zelenskyy later honoured her with a state award for her role in the humanitarian effort.
The strike also comes less than a week before the United States is scheduled to bring Ukrainian and Russian delegations together in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11 for talks aimed at ending the war, now in its fifth year.
US envoy Steve Witkoff said the discussions would focus on ending the conflict, postwar security arrangements and de-escalation.
