Russian 'Double-Tap' Bombing of Ukraine Aid Centre Kills at Least 26, 27 Missing

Russian forces bombed a school used to distribute humanitarian aid in the village of Komyshuvakha in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region on November 2, killing at least 26 people, with 27 missing, Ukraine's emergency services said. Two rescue workers, named by the emergency service as Denis Konovalenko and Oleksiy Sushchevsky, and four police officers were among the dead. Five other people were reported injured, including two more rescue workers. (Photo: file image of Ukrainian rescuers searching bombed rubble, not the Komyshuvakha scene.)

School struck first, then nine more bombs on the shelter

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, writing on Telegram, said Russian forces first dropped aerial bombs on the school, then launched a repeat strike with nine more bombs directly on the shelter where people had gathered. "The Russians could not have been unaware that every week residents who have remained in Komyshuvakha were receiving assistance right there," he wrote. Footage posted by Ukraine's emergency services showed a building reduced to piles of smouldering rubble, with rescuers still searching for people believed trapped. The death toll was initially reported as 18, then revised to 24, and raised again to 26 in Zelenskyy's nightly address, and could rise further.

A day after a local ceasefire expired

The attack came a day after the expiry of a six-day local ceasefire brokered by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump to bring aid into the embattled city of Oleshky in the Kherson region to the southwest and evacuate residents wishing to leave. Zelenskyy said the attack was "further proof that Russia does not want any kind of de-escalation, any real justice." Russia has consistently denied targeting civilian targets. Komyshuvakha lies southeast of the regional capital, also called Zaporizhzhia.

Update

Update: Zaporizhzhia region declared Tuesday a day of mourning. The missing figure remains unsettled: the city council secretary put it at 27, while other local officials said about 20; night-time rescue work was at times disrupted by Russian drone attacks in the area.

Sources: Reuters (2026-11-02), Ukraine's State Emergency Service, Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Telegram, Zaporizhzhia regional government.