In brief
A Russian strike struck a school turned aid centre in Komyshuvakha, killing 24 and injuring five. President Zelenskyy condemned the attack, highlighting the repeated strike and the loss of emergency responders. Additional drone attacks in Kharkiv and Odesa caused further casualties.
A Russian air strike targeted a school in Komyshuvakha, southeast of Zaporizhia, on Monday, according to Ukraine’s emergency services. The bombing turned the building into piles of smouldering rubble, while rescuers struggled amid the wreckage.
Ukraine’s emergency services reported that the strike killed 24 people, including a police officer and two State Emergency Service rescuers. Five more were wounded, and the governor of Zaporizhia media reported that 27 persons are considered missing as a result of the attack.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blasted the attack on his Telegram channel, saying that it was evidence of Russia’s unwillingness to de‑escalate the war. He added that a second strike wove through the shelter where evacuees had gathered, with nine bombs landing directly on the site.
"After the first air strike, there was a repeat strike with nine more bombs, directly on the shelter where people were gathered," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
Footage shared by Ukrainian emergency services showed the school’s roof collapsed and walls reduced to rubble. Rescuers were seen in the dark, moving through the wreckage to reach the wounded. The footage also revealed the extent of the damage to the building and surrounding yard.
In other parts of the country, Ukrainian emergency services reported additional casualties from drone attacks. In the eastern Kharkiv region, a drone strike injured 12 civilians and caused damage to a refrigeration facility, greenhouses, and residential buildings.
The black sea port city of Odesa also saw air strikes. Five people were injured when a warehouse was targeted, and nearby homes suffered damage.
Zelenskyy called the Komyshuvakha strike a “signal that Russia is counting on more killings.” He urged that any humanitarian operation should bring a path to peace, not a “momentful of progress.”
Responding to the attack, regional Governor Mykhailo Semikin noted the loss of emergency responders and expressed sadness over the missing persons.
The incident adds another deadly blow to the ongoing conflict, with Ukraine demanding accountability and a ceasefire for civilians.
