Death Toll from Russian Strike on Ukraine Aid Center in Komyshuvakha Rises to 42

The death toll from a Russian aerial bomb strike on a humanitarian aid distribution center in the village of Komyshuvakha in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region rose to 42 on November 5, according to the National Police of Ukraine. Another 33 people may still be trapped beneath the rubble of the underground school building used for weekly aid distribution.

Russian forces struck the site on November 2 with multiple guided aerial bombs, including FAB-3000 munitions weighing three tonnes. Ukrainian officials said the first wave hit as residents arrived to collect food and other assistance. A second wave struck the shelter after police and emergency responders had arrived. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack utterly horrific and said Russian forces knew the location served as a regular aid point every Monday.

Among the dead are at least four police officers and two State Emergency Service rescuers. The police officers named by Ukrainian sources include Majors Mykhailo Buzhenko and Mykola Balanda and Captains Mykhailo Romanov and Dmytro Biesiedin. Rescuers Denys Konovalenko and Oleksii Sushchevskyi, both 44, were also killed. Administrative Services Centre staff and local residents, including Nataliia Karapetian, wife of the community head, were among the victims.

Search operations continued into November 5. Police released bodycam footage recorded by an officer during the evacuation that shows people rushing into the shelter before the ceiling collapses. Rescue teams have at times suspended work because of Russian drone activity over the site. Excavators have been used to dig near a large blast crater. Some previously missing residents were found alive, bringing limited relief to families, but the majority of those still listed as missing remain unaccounted for.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said the strikes targeted Ukrainian military units in the area and claimed up to 25 servicemen were killed. Ukrainian officials and independent reporting have described the location as a civilian aid point with no military function at the time of the attack. The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, condemned the strikes, noting that the majority of those killed were local residents collecting aid and local administration employees, with subsequent strikes killing rescuers and police.

The attack ranks among the deadliest single strikes on civilians in Ukraine this year. Initial reports on November 2 listed 26 confirmed dead with 27 missing. The toll climbed through the week as bodies were recovered: 31 by November 3, 37 by November 4, and 42 by November 5. Identification of some remains continues.

Komyshuvakha lies in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, an area that has seen repeated Russian strikes since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. The village had continued limited civilian presence and weekly aid distributions despite its proximity to the front. The strike destroyed the school building used as both distribution point and shelter.

Ukrainian emergency services and police continue recovery work. Further increases in the death toll remain possible as excavation proceeds. The incident has drawn renewed attention to Russian use of large aerial bombs against civilian infrastructure in occupied or contested areas of southern Ukraine.