Guided bombs hit Komyshuvakha school used for aid: death toll rises above 20

What happened

On 2 November Russian forces hit the settlement of Komyshuvakha in Zaporizhzhia Oblast with a series of guided aerial bombs. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the target was a school used for humanitarian needs, where aid was being handed out to residents.

After an initial strike, he said, nine more bombs were aimed at the shelter where people had taken cover. Acting Zaporizhzhia regional head Mykhailo Semikin said the centre of the settlement was hit by at least nine FAB-3000 guided bombs.

Casualties and rescue

Zelensky first reported 18 dead and five wounded. BBC News Ukraine later cited his updated figure of 26 killed. Among the dead were four police officers and two State Emergency Service rescuers. The service named the rescuers as Denys Konovalenko and Oleksii Sushchevskyi, both 44.

Twenty-seven people were listed as missing, and people remained under the rubble. Rescue work had to pause because of FPV drone attacks. A sports hall and outbuilding were destroyed, the school building was damaged and a fire engine was lost.

Kyiv’s reaction

Zelensky said Russian forces “could not have been unaware” that locals received aid there weekly, calling the strike proof that Moscow seeks no real de-escalation. Zaporizhzhia Oblast declared 3 November a day of mourning.

Why it matters

An attack on a humanitarian distribution point is among the deadliest civilian incidents of early November. It comes amid talks of limited ceasefires elsewhere and sharpens calls for air defence and accountability for strikes on civilians.