Russian airstrike on Komyshuvakha shelter kills at least 29, dozens missing, Zelensky says

In brief

• A Russian strike on a humanitarian aid point and shelter in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region, killed at least 29 people according to regional authorities.
• Forty-eight people are listed as missing and rescue work at the site was ongoing on 3 November.
• Four injured people, including a rescue worker, are being treated in a Zaporizhzhia hospital, and the most seriously hurt, a 22-year-old woman, is in intensive care.

Attack on aid point in Komyshuvakha

Russian forces struck the village of Komyshuvakha in Zaporizhzhia region on the evening of 2 November, dropping several guided aerial bombs on the village centre (Удар по Комишувасі: кількість загиблих зросла до 29 людей – UNIAN) (Rusové svrhli na vesnici devět těžkých bomb. Ze školy zbyl jen kráter – Seznam Zprávy). Regional officials said at least nine FAB-3000 bombs were used, and one hit a humanitarian hub that residents had been using as a shelter (РФ вдарила по школі, де ховалися люди: 29 загиблих, ще пів сотні зникли безвісти — моторошні подробиці – TSN) (Dziewięć bomb spadło w centrum miejscowości. To jeden z najbardziej śmiercionośnych ataków Rosjan w tym roku – Onet). People had gathered there to collect aid when the strikes came.

Casualty figures

The head of the regional military administration, Mykhailo Semikin, said the death toll had risen to 29 by the morning of 3 November, with five people injured and 48 listed as missing ("Масштаб трагедії страшний": до 29 зросла кількість загиблих у Комишувасі, 48 людей шукають – Українська правда). Zelensky, in a separate statement, gave an earlier figure of 18 dead. The dead include civilians as well as police officers and rescue workers who were on duty at the site ("Найважча" 22-річна дівчина з опіками 81% тіла – в ОВА розповіли про стан поранених у Комишувасі – Українська правда) (Допомагали людям пройти в укриття: внаслідок авіаудару РФ по Комишувасі на Запоріжжі загинули чотири поліцейські – Suspilne). Among the identified victims is the head of the local branch of the Administrative Service Centre, Olha Tverdenko («Мені подобається моя робота»: внаслідок удару РФ по Комишувасі загинула очільниця ЦНАП Ольга Тверденко – Suspilne).

Hospital treatment

Four people were taken to a hospital in Zaporizhzhia. Three of them, two women and a man, have been operated on and are in stable, moderate condition. A rescue worker is among them, aged between 22 and 68 across the four patients. The most seriously injured is a 22-year-old woman rescued from under the rubble. She has blast injuries and burns to about 81% of her body and is on a ventilator in intensive care.

Search and mourning

Search and rescue crews were still clearing debris on the site on 3 November, and 3 November was declared a day of mourning in Zaporizhzhia region. Semikin said the true scale of the tragedy was still becoming clear, as relatives waited for news of people still unaccounted for.