Russian Bombs Hit School Used as Aid Centre in Ukraine, 26 Killed

A Russian bombing of a school used as a humanitarian aid centre in south-eastern Ukraine has killed 26 people. Five more people were injured in the incident, the country's state emergency service said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday (November 2) that the attack struck the school in the village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region. The building was being used as a humanitarian aid centre and was destroyed in the strike.

Writing on the social media platform Telegram, Zelensky said that after the first air strike, nine more bombs were dropped in a second wave. The bombs fell directly on the shelter where local people had gathered to receive assistance.

Zelensky said the people living in Komyshuvakha received aid from the centre every week, and that this could not have been unknown to Russia. The attack, he said, proves that Russia does not want de-escalation or genuine justice.

Video released by Ukraine's state emergency service showed the building reduced to rubble in the attack, with rescue workers carrying out a rescue operation at the scene.

Regional governor Mykhailo Semykin said the dead included one police officer and two rescuers from the state emergency service. A further 27 people are believed to be missing.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian drone attacks injured 12 more people. In the eastern Kharkiv region, the strikes damaged a cold storage facility, a greenhouse and residential buildings.

In the Black Sea port city of Odesa, five more people were injured in an attack. A warehouse was targeted there, and several houses were also damaged.

Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry said the country's air defence systems had shot down 212 Ukrainian drones overnight.