Russian bombs kill 53 at a Ukraine aid point, Zaporizhzhia officials say

Note

Update, Friday Nov 6: The death toll rose to 53, acting Zaporizhzhia governor Mykhailo Semikin said, Reuters reports via CBC News and Anadolu. Ukraine's Emergency Service had earlier on Friday put the toll at 50 after eight more bodies were recovered, Al Jazeera reports. Search and rescue work entered its fifth day.

On Thursday, Nov 5, Zelensky said 43 people were now known to have died and dozens may still be under the rubble, Interfax-Ukraine and Ukrinform report. One person who had been listed as missing was found alive. Earlier on Thursday, police put the toll at 42 with up to 33 people buried, Reuters reports.

On Wednesday, Nov 4, Zelensky said 40 people were now confirmed dead and more than 30 were missing after the strike, the Guardian reports. AP also reports the death toll rose to 40.

Russian aerial bombs hit a school in the village of Komyshuvakha, in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, on Monday, Nov 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The school was used for humanitarian needs, and local residents received aid there every week, he said. Zelensky called the attack "utterly horrific", the BBC reports.

After the first strike, there was a repeat strike with nine more bombs, directly on the shelter where people were gathered, Zelensky wrote on Telegram, Al Jazeera reports. Regional head Mykhailo Semikin said at least nine 3,000kg aerial bombs hit the village, five people were injured and 27 were initially reported missing, the BBC reports.

Zelensky first put the toll at 18. The State Emergency Service later said 24 people were confirmed killed, including two rescuers and four police officers. In his evening address, Zelensky said at least 26 were now known to have died, the BBC and Kyiv Post report. Semikin said people were still under the rubble and declared Tuesday a day of mourning across the region. On Tuesday, the toll rose to 31, AP reported. Later on Tuesday, at a press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelensky said at least 33 people were killed and about 50 were believed to still be under the rubble, Reuters reports. Late on Tuesday, Zelensky said five people had been rescued and more than 50 may still be trapped under the rubble, calling it one of the largest Russian killings of the war, Euronews reports.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday its forces had targeted Ukrainian army units around Komyshuvakha and two other villages, Reuters reports. The strike came a day after a localized ceasefire in Russian occupied Oleshky, in Kherson region, ended on Sunday, Nov 1, the Kyiv Post reports.