Death Toll from Russian Strike on Ukraine Aid Centre Rises to 37

The death toll from a Russian airstrike on the village of Komyshuvakha in Zaporizhzhia Oblast reached 37 by 4 November 2026, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. Search-and-rescue operations entered a third day after the attack on 2 November.

Russian forces struck a school building used as a humanitarian aid distribution centre with aerial bombs, including a three-tonne FAB-3000. The bomb contains more than 1,000 kilograms of explosives and has a large blast radius. The site lies about 17 kilometres from the nearest Russian positions. Classes had been suspended, but the building served as a shelter and aid point every Monday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 33 people were killed and more than 50 could still be trapped under the rubble in earlier updates. Regional officials reported 59 people missing at one stage. Among the confirmed dead are two rescue workers, Denys Konovalenko and Oleksii Sushchevskyi, both 44, and four police officers: Majors Mykhailo Buzhenko and Mykola Balanda and Captains Mykhailo Romanov and Dmytro Biesiedin.

Rescuers faced additional strikes while working at the site. The attack destroyed a gymnasium and outbuildings and damaged the school. A large crater remains where the main impact occurred. Emergency teams used excavators to clear rubble while searching for survivors and bodies.

Russia’s defence ministry stated that the strikes targeted Ukrainian military units in the area and that up to 25 servicemen were killed. Ukrainian officials maintain the building was used for civilian aid distribution. Both sides deny deliberate targeting of civilians.

The attack occurred after a brief local ceasefire in the Kherson region had allowed limited humanitarian activity. Separate Russian strikes on energy infrastructure the following night involved 289 drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles, according to Zelenskyy, affecting power supplies across multiple regions.

Komyshuvakha residents had gathered for regular aid distribution when the bombs hit. Local administrative staff and community members were among those killed or missing. Rescue work paused at times because of drone activity in the vicinity.

The State Emergency Service continues recovery efforts. Updated casualty figures are released as bodies are identified. The incident ranks among the deadliest single strikes on a civilian aid site reported in recent months of the conflict.

Further details on the missing and injured will emerge as the search concludes. Ukrainian authorities have called the attack one of the worst on civilians in the area since the full-scale invasion began.