At least 31 people have been confirmed dead following a devastating Russian airstrike on a building being used as a shelter and humanitarian aid centre in southeastern Ukraine.
The attack, which involved at least nine bombs, struck the town of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region on Monday, leaving the building destroyed and dozens of people trapped beneath the rubble.
Local governor Mykhailo Semikin said another 48 people remained unaccounted for as rescue operations continued. He explained that civilians had gathered inside the facility, which was serving as a shelter and distribution point for humanitarian assistance.
According to the governor, the building had a reinforced underground basement constructed last year with funding from the European Union. The facility was designed to withstand most attacks, but the intensity of the explosions caused the concrete structure to collapse and triggered a fire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the incident, describing it as horrific. He said the strike happened while humanitarian assistance was being distributed to residents, making the attack particularly devastating.
The incident also claimed the lives of emergency workers and police officers who rushed to assist victims. Two first responders, identified as Denys Konovalenko and Oleksiy Sushchevsky, both aged 44, were killed after arriving at the scene.
The Ukrainian Police also confirmed the deaths of four officers, including Mykhailo Buzhenko, Mykola Balanda, Mykhailo Romanov and Dmytro Besedin. Authorities said they had been helping residents reach safety when another strike hit the area.
Ukrainian officials alleged that Russian forces carried out a second attack after the initial bombing, targeting the area while rescue workers and civilians were still responding to the first explosion. Such attacks, commonly described as double-tap strikes, have raised further concerns about the safety of emergency personnel in the conflict.
Semikin disclosed that Russia used KAB-500 and FAB-3000 aerial bombs during the assault. He described the FAB-3000 as a particularly destructive weapon weighing three tonnes and containing approximately 1.5 tonnes of explosives.
The attack comes amid renewed diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the war, with the administration of US President Donald Trump pushing both countries towards negotiations.
However, Russia has continued its aerial campaign against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Recent attacks have also killed dozens of civilians, including victims of strikes on buses in Kramatorsk and residential areas around Kyiv.
Zelensky has called on the United States and other international partners to provide stronger air defence support, warning that Ukraine will continue to suffer devastating attacks unless it receives the necessary assistance to protect its population.
