37 DEAD, 59 MISSING AFTER RUSSIAN STRIKE ON UKRAINIAN HUMANITARIAN AID CENTRE
November 4, 2026
At least 37 people have been killed and another 59 reported missing after a Russian airstrike hit a humanitarian aid distribution centre in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, triggering an extensive search-and-rescue operation amid fears that the death toll could rise further.
The attack took place on Monday in the village of Komyshuvakha, where a former school building was being used as a shelter and a humanitarian assistance distribution point. Ukrainian authorities said rescuers were still searching through the rubble on Wednesday for survivors and the remains of those feared trapped beneath the debris.
Mykhailo Semikin, acting head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, confirmed that the death toll had risen to 37. Ivan Fedorov, co-head of the regional defence council, separately reported that 59 people remained missing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces initially dropped aerial bombs on the school building as civilians arrived to collect humanitarian assistance, before striking the shelter with additional bombs. The building had long ceased functioning as a school because of its proximity to the frontline but continued to serve local residents as a shelter and aid distribution centre every Monday.
Among those killed were two members of a rescue crew and four police officers, according to emergency services.
Russia's Defence Ministry offered a different account of the operation, saying the attack had targeted Ukrainian military units in the vicinity of Komyshuvakha and two other settlements. It claimed that as many as 25 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed. Both Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians.
The strike occurred one day after the expiration of a six-day ceasefire intended to facilitate the evacuation of civilians from the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky. The temporary truce, brokered by US First Lady Melania Trump, reportedly enabled nearly 800 people to leave the area. Zelenskiy subsequently awarded her a state honour in recognition of her role.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to end the war are continuing. US envoy Steve Witkoff announced that American officials would bring together Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11 to discuss ending the conflict, postwar security arrangements and measures to reduce military escalation.
The bombing of the humanitarian facility has added another deadly episode to the continuing war, with rescue teams still searching for missing people and the circumstances surrounding the attack remaining sharply disputed by Moscow and Kyiv.
