Ukraine says Russian strikes killed 26 at Zaporizhzhia aid centre

At least 26 people were killed and five injured in Russian strikes on a school being used as a humanitarian aid centre in the Ukrainian village of Komyshuvakha, according to Ukrainian officials cited by DW and BBC News. The attack took place in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, about 35 kilometres east of the city of Zaporizhzhia and close to the frontline. The reports describe repeated aerial attacks on the site.

DW said Russian aircraft reportedly launched more than 10 glide bombs, while the BBC cited regional head Mykhailo Semikin as saying that at least nine 3,000-kilogram bombs hit the village. The accounts differ on the precise description of the weapons and number of strikes, but agree that the aid centre and a shelter were hit. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack “utterly horrific”.

He said the first bomb struck the school and that a second attack hit the shelter where people had taken cover. Zelenskyy argued that Russian forces could not have been unaware that residents who remained in Komyshuvakha received humanitarian aid at the location each week. Ukraine’s emergency services said two rescuers were among those killed.

The BBC reported that four police officers were also among the confirmed dead at an earlier stage of the rescue operation, while people remained under the rubble. Semikin said rescue teams had repeatedly been forced to stop because of Russian drone attacks in the area. A day of mourning was declared across Zaporizhzhia for Tuesday.

The death toll rose during the day. Zelenskyy initially reported 18 deaths, and Ukraine’s emergency service later confirmed 24 before the president said 26 people were known to have died. The varying figures reflect the continuing rescue and identification operation rather than a disagreement over whether the attack occurred.

The Russian military had not publicly commented on the reported strikes, according to the BBC. Ukrainian authorities nevertheless presented the attack as evidence that Moscow was unwilling to pursue de-escalation. Zelenskyy made that accusation shortly after a six-day humanitarian ceasefire in and around Oleshky, in the neighbouring Kherson region, expired.

Ukraine’s General Staff said Russian forces had used that pause to rearm and rotate troops, while the Kremlin responded that Ukraine could also have used the ceasefire to regroup and described such activity as normal. About 170 people were evacuated from the Kherson region before the pause ended, with reported figures ranging from 167 to 180. The incident came as US envoy Steve Witkoff said working-level talks involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine would take place in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11.

He said discussions would cover post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and further steps towards peace, with representatives of NATO, Germany, Britain and the European Union also expected to meet. No breakthrough was forecast in the supplied reports.