Russian strikes kill 26 at Ukraine aid distribution site
Russian strikes kill 26 people at an aid distribution site in Komyshuvakha, Ukraine, after bombs hit a school used for humanitarian needs. Five people were injured and 27 were initially reported missing. Rescue teams said drone attacks repeatedly interrupted their work, while President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack and said peace talks are due to resume next week.
Russian strikes kill 26 people in Komyshuvakha, Ukraine, after aerial bombs hit a local school used to distribute humanitarian aid on Monday. The attack also injured five people, while 27 were initially reported missing.
Regional head Mykhailo Semikin said at least nine 3,000kg bombs struck the village in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Rescue crews searched the rubble, but drone attacks in the area forced them to stop work several times.
The attack struck a place where residents received aid every week. The death toll rose as emergency services confirmed more victims.
Ukraine’s state emergencies service, DSNS, said 24 people had been confirmed dead, including two rescuers and four police officers. In a video address late on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the number killed had reached 26.
Zelensky said the first strike hit the school, which was being used for humanitarian needs, and a second attack hit the place where people had taken shelter. Video he posted showed a large crater and rescue teams working through debris.
“This is yet another proof that Russia does not want any de-escalation,” Zelensky said.
Rescue work interrupted by drone attacks
Semikin called the strike a “terrible tragedy” for the village and said people remained under the rubble. Emergency crews continued their search, though repeated interruptions from drone attacks added danger to an operation already taking place among damaged buildings.
The impact is immediate for residents who relied on the school as a regular humanitarian aid distribution point. The attack hit a site where local people gathered to receive assistance, and the reported deaths included emergency responders and police officers.
Zelensky said Russian forces could not have been unaware that residents who remained in Komyshuvakha received aid there weekly. He described the strike as a signal against de-escalation, following a recent joint Russian-Ukrainian operation to evacuate civilians from Oleshky during a temporary ceasefire brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump.
“With such killings, Russia is sending the exact opposite signal - Russia is counting on further killings,” Zelensky said.
A day of mourning was declared for Tuesday across the Zaporizhzhia region. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Peace talks due to resume next week
Teams from Ukraine, Russia and the United States are due to resume peace talks in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, next week, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said on X. Witkoff said the discussions would address “post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace”.
Witkoff also said US negotiators would meet European and Nato officials in Brussels this week. The talks had been suspended in February, and the source said Moscow had since stepped up attacks as Kyiv virtually ran out of Western-supplied interceptors to defend against missiles.
No major breakthrough is expected at the talks. In Komyshuvakha, rescue teams were still working after 26 people were reported killed.
