Russian bombings kill 26 at school serving as aid center in Zaporizhzhia

Russian forces bombed a school that was being used as a humanitarian aid distribution centre in the settlement of Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, on Nov. 2, killing at least 26 people, including two rescue workers and four police officers, the State Emergency Service (DSNS) said. Five people were injured, among them two rescue workers.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attacks began with a strike on the school, followed by a second wave of nine aerial bombs that hit a shelter where residents had taken refuge. He said the strikes demonstrated that Russia was not seeking to de-escalate the conflict.

According to DSNS, rescue personnel and police arrived at the site after the first explosion, only to be hit by the subsequent bombs. The attacks destroyed a gymnasium, an outbuilding, a fire truck and caused damage to the school building.

Among the dead were rescue workers Denys Konovalenko and Oleksii Sushchevskyi, both 44, who had served in civil protection and fire-rescue units for many years and had received state awards. They are survived by their wives and four children.

Komyshuvakha lies about 20 kilometres from the front line and has been described as a front-line settlement since November 2025, with repeated Russian guided aerial bomb attacks reported by the Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center.