Russian bombing kills 26 at Ukraine aid centre, officials say

Ukrainian officials said 26 people were killed on 2 November when Russian bombs hit a school used to distribute humanitarian aid in Komyshuvakha, a village in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the school was no longer holding classes because the village was close to the front line. Aid was distributed there every Monday, he said. According to Zelensky, the first bombs struck as people arrived, and a second strike hit a shelter inside the building.

The reported death toll rose from an initial 18 to 24, then to 26 as search teams worked at the site. Regional governor Mykhailo Semikin said two rescue workers and four police officers were among the dead. Zelensky said five people were in hospital and others remained under the rubble.

Semikin said rescue efforts that evening were hindered by further Russian drone attacks in the area, the Associated Press reported. He declared 3 November a day of mourning across the Zaporizhzhia region.