Ukraine reports at least 50 dead in Zaporizhia aid hub strike; official cites 53 as rescue work continues
The death toll from a Russian strike on an aid hub in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region has risen to at least 50, after Ukraine’s emergency service said Friday that eight more bodies had been recovered from rubble in the village of Komyshuvakha. Acting regional governor Mykhailo Semikin later put the figure at 53 as search work entered a fifth day; Al Jazeera could not independently verify that number. The attack has become one of the deadliest Russian strikes this year.
Russian aircraft bombed a former school near the front lines on Monday, a site civilians used for weekly aid handouts. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a second wave then hit the underground shelter where people had taken cover, causing most of the destruction. “After the first aerial bomb strike, there was a double-tap strike with nine more bombs, specifically targeting the shelter where people were taking cover,” he wrote on X. Four police officers and two rescue workers were among the dead. Zelenskyy called it a “vile terrorist strike” and said it showed Moscow’s refusal to stop fighting. The UN human rights mission in Ukraine said the strike was likely a breach of international law.
Local police said Wednesday that 59 people were listed as missing, though some might already be among recovered bodies, and that as many as 39 people may still be trapped under debris. Specialists have been taking DNA samples to identify the dead, while further Russian attacks have threatened the rescue. The strike came a day after a six-day ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky ended. Russia and Ukraine continued drone attacks on Thursday that injured several people on both sides, including a child; on Wednesday, Russian attacks in eastern Donetsk killed four civilians and injured five. Delegations from both countries are expected in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11 for US-brokered talks, after earlier rounds made little progress.
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