At least 24 people were killed and five others injured in an airstrike on the Ukrainian village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to the latest figures from the Ukrainian civil protection authorities. Search operations were continuing, while 27 people were reported missing by regional military administrator Mykhailo Semikin. Earlier reports had put the death toll at 18.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strike deliberately targeted a humanitarian aid distribution point inside a school. He said Russia would have known that residents remaining in Komyshuvakha gathered there each week to receive assistance.
Zelenskyy described the attack as a sign that Moscow was opting for further violence rather than steps toward peace. There was no immediate confirmation or comment from the Russian side.
Ukrainian authorities said the settlement had been bombed several times with glide bombs. More than ten bombs were reportedly dropped, with one striking a shelter directly, according to Zelenskyy. These weapons are launched by Russian aircraft from high altitude and distance before gliding toward their targets using satellite navigation.
Komyshuvakha lies around 25 kilometres east of Zaporizhzhia and just over a dozen kilometres from the front line. The wider Zaporizhzhia region has faced repeated heavy Russian bombardments in recent months. An attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia in mid-October killed 23 people, including four minors, according to the report.
Sources: Der Spiegel.