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The death toll from a Russian bombing of an underground aid distribution point in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region has climbed to 40, with dozens of people still missing, according to officials who have now confirmed the death toll.
The strike on the frontline village of Komyshuvakha marks one of the deadliest attacks on civilians this year.
The bombing occurred on Monday, November2, just one day after a brief U.S.-brokered local ceasefire expired, and less than a week before the United States is scheduled to host Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Abu Dhabi for talks aimed at ending the five-year conflict.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Russian forces initially dropped aerial bombs on an underground school building being utilized as a humanitarian aid hub and shelter as residents arrived to collect assistance. The location was subsequently struck a second time with additional bombs.
“This strike hit a place where a community was organizing help for its own residents,” said Yuliya Stefanyuk, director for Ukraine at the World Central Kitchen charity, which delivers food and water to the area.
Emergency services confirmed that two members of a rescue crew and four police officers were among the dead. Ivan Fedorov, co-head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Defense Council, reported via Telegram that 59 people remain missing as search and rescue operations continue at the blast site.
Russia’s Defence Ministry stated that the strike targeted Ukrainian military units in the surrounding area, claiming up to 25 Ukrainian servicemen were killed. Both Russia and Ukraine maintain that they do not deliberately target civilians.
The devastating attack follows a six-day ceasefire brokered by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump to evacuate civilians from the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky, which allowed nearly 800 people to safely leave before expiring.
