KOMYSHUVAKHA, Ukraine — At least 24 people were killed and 27 remain missing after Russian forces bombed a school in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region, that was being used as a humanitarian aid distribution centre and shelter, Ukrainian officials said Monday.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack as a barbaric "double-tap" strike, stating that after the first air strike, a repeat wave of nine more bombs directly hit 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," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
Two Ukrainian rescue workers and four police officers were among the dead, according to the country's emergency services. Five people were being treated in hospital, including two rescue workers. Rescue efforts were hindered by subsequent Russian drone attacks in the area, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi noted.
The attack occurred one day after a localized ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, which Kyiv said had created a moment when progress toward peace was possible. Zelenskyy said Russia was sending an entirely opposite signal by continuing killings.
Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration head Mykhailo Semikin declared November 3 a day of mourning for the victims. The Russian military has yet to comment on the strike.
US-led talks between Russia and Ukraine are set to resume next week in Abu Dhabi, as Kyiv and its European allies worry that US President Donald Trump has increasingly sided with Moscow.
