At least 24 dead after Russian strike on aid distribution site in Saporischschja region

In brief

• A Russian strike on a school used for aid distribution in Komyschuwacha, Saporischschja region, killed at least 24 people according to Ukrainian officials.
• Five people were injured and 27 are listed as missing, with rescuers still searching the rubble.
• President Zelensky called the attack a deliberate strike on civilians and accused Russia of rejecting de-escalation.
• Separate overnight Russian strikes hit energy sites and a hospital, and Moscow reported a large Ukrainian drone attack.

Strike hits school used as aid distribution point

Ukrainian authorities report that at least 24 people were killed when a Russian bomb struck a school in Komyschuwacha, a village in the Saporischschja region in southeastern Ukraine. The building had been used to hand out humanitarian aid to residents who remained in the area. (Krieg in der Ukraine: Mindestens 24 Tote bei russischen Luftangriffen in Saporischschja – ZEIT ONLINE) (Ukraine-Krieg: Wolodymyr Selenskyj berichtet von Luftangriff mit 18 Toten bei Saporischschja – DER SPIEGEL)

(Liveblog Ukrainekrieg: 18 Tote bei Luftangriff in Saporischschja – FAZ.NET) (Ukraine meldet mindestens 24 Tote bei Angriff in Region Saporischschja – tagesschau.de)

Regional military administrator Mychajlo Semikin said at least five people were injured, and 27 others were listed as missing. Rescue teams were still digging through the debris on Monday evening.

Zelensky accuses Moscow of targeting civilians

President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack was a deliberate strike on an aid distribution. He argued that Russia knew residents still living in Komyschuwacha received aid at that school every week.

Zelensky wrote that the killings sent a signal opposite to peace, and that Russia shows no interest in de-escalation. He pointed to ten guided bombs used in the attack.

Wider overnight attacks

The Ukrainian defence ministry reported separate Russian air strikes on energy facilities in Kharkiv, Vinnytsia and Dnipropetrovsk overnight. Hospital facades were also damaged in one attack, and about 200 patients had to be evacuated. (Krieg - Neue russische Luftangriffe auf Ukraine - Krankenhaus getroffen – Deutschlandfunk)

Russian authorities, for their part, reported strikes on port infrastructure and vessels in Odesa on the Black Sea.

Moscow said a large Ukrainian drone attack, involving nearly 500 drones, was aimed at the capital. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said most were shot down by air defences, though it was unclear whether any hit targets.

Read also

• Russia resumes strikes on Kherson after days of local truce