Russian aerial bombs kill 24 at aid centre in Zaporizhzhia region

At least 24 people were killed on Monday when Russian aerial bombs struck an aid distribution centre in the village of Komyshuvakha, in the southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine.

The strikes destroyed a school used as a humanitarian aid centre in the village, regional head Mykhailo Semikin reported on Telegram. He described the Russian attack as a terrible tragedy for the community. Five people were injured. 27 people were reported missing. President Volodymyr Zelensky initially put the death toll at 18 before Ukraine’s state emergencies service, DSNS, later updated the confirmed figure to 24.

Semikin said at least nine 3,000kg aerial bombs hit the village. Zelensky described a repeat strike that followed the initial attack on the school. “After the first air strike, there was a repeat strike with nine more bombs, directly on the shelter where people were gathered,” he wrote on Telegram. Two State Emergency Service rescuers were among those killed, and police officers were also among the dead, though the exact number of officers killed is disputed between sources. He confirmed people remain trapped. Rescue teams working at the scene were forced to halt their operation multiple times because of Russian drone attacks in the area, as footage posted by Ukrainian emergency services showed a building reduced to piles of smouldering rubble. Zelensky separately posted video showing a huge crater left after Monday’s attack and rescue teams searching through the debris.

Zelensky: Russia does not want de-escalation

“The Russians could not have been unaware that every week residents who have remained in Komyshuvakha were receiving assistance aid right there. This is yet further proof that Russia does not want any kind of de-escalation, any real justice,” Zelensky wrote on social media. He had earlier referenced a recent humanitarian operation in Oleshky as a moment when the next steps could have shown that progress toward peace was possible. “With these killings, Russia is sending an entirely opposite signal: Russia is counting on more killings,” the Ukrainian president said. The Russian military has not publicly commented on the Komyshuvakha attack.

Wider strikes across Ukraine

Drone strikes injured 12 people in the eastern Kharkiv region, damaging a refrigeration facility, greenhouses, and residential buildings, while five people were reported injured in Odesa, where a warehouse was targeted and homes were damaged. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it shot down 212 Ukrainian drones overnight. The head of Russia’s Samara region, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, reported that local air defences had repelled an aerial attack without giving further details.

A day of mourning has been declared for Tuesday across the entire Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine.