Russia just bombed a Ukrainian aid centre and Zelenskyy says it proves Russia wants more killings
1 hour ago · 3 November 2026Share
A damaged building in Irpin after Russian shelling. File photo. Rasal Hague · CC BY-SA 4.0
Russia just bombed a Ukrainian aid centre.
And that aid centre was a school people went to every week to pick up food and supplies.
Dozens are dead. Dozens more are still missing under the rubble.
So what actually happened?
It was a double hit. Russian aircraft bombed the school first. Then they came back and dropped at least nine more guided bombs straight onto the shelter where people had gathered. Officials in Kyiv call that a double-tap strike. First hit, then a second one aimed at the people who show up to help.
It happened this morning. The village is called Komyshuvakha, in Zaporizhzhia region, about 20 kilometres from the front line.
And the toll keeps climbing.
First it was 18 dead. Then 24. By President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's evening address, it was 26 dead, with 27 people still unaccounted for. Five more are in hospital, including two emergency service rescuers.
Not every outlet agrees on the numbers.
AP's reporting, carried by Korea Times, puts the missing figure at about 20, lower than the 27 Ukrainian officials are giving. Kyiv Post and Kyiv Independent both say four police officers died. Militarnyi and Al Jazeera say it was one or two. Neither gap has been cleared up.
Two of the dead have been named. Denys Konovalenko, who had worked in Ukraine's civil protection service for almost 12 years. And Oleksii Sushchevskyi, who had worked fire and rescue in Zaporizhzhia since 2013. Both were 44.
Here's why people were even there. The school had stopped holding classes because it sits so close to the fighting. But once a week, it still handed out humanitarian aid. That's why people were inside it.
The rest of this story is for members.
Destruction in the settlement of Komyshuvakha following Russian bombardment. File photo. Вадим Балачук · CC0
Mykhailo Semikin runs the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration. He says Russia used FAB-3000 guided bombs in the strike — one of the heaviest bombs Russia has. He has declared a day of mourning across the region for tomorrow.
Serhii Koretskyi, Ukraine's Prime Minister, says Russian forces knew for certain this is where people get aid every week. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the same thing in his address: Russian forces could not have been unaware that local residents received humanitarian aid there every week.
But here's the part that has Kyiv angriest. This strike came less than a day after a six-day ceasefire around Oleshky, in Kherson region, ran out. That truce started on 27 October. It was the most significant pause in the fighting since the war began, and it let aid in and let people evacuate.
So what does Zelenskyy think this means?
He says there was a real chance to keep de-escalating after Oleshky. Instead, he says, Russia chose the opposite. He says Russia is sending the opposite signal and is counting on more killings.
Ukraine's General Staff says Russia used the ceasefire pause to strengthen its drone defences and restock ammunition instead.
Russia has not said anything about the strike on Komyshuvakha.
And this isn't the first time this exact village has been hit while people gathered for aid. A Russian drone wounded four people there in June, according to Ukrinform.
The timing matters for one more reason. Ukraine, the United States and Russia are due to sit down for talks in Abu Dhabi in days. Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy, says the dates are set for 10 and 11 November.
Rescue teams are still digging through the rubble. Further Russian drone activity in the area is slowing the search down.
Nobody has said whether the toll will rise again. And Russia has not said whether the aid site was deliberately targeted, or hit while it was doing something else nearby.
Nothing here was paid for by an advertiser. Members are the entire business model. Bronze is where it starts, and it opens the last seven days in full.
