Rescue teams continued searching through a massive crater in the village of Komyšuvacha in Zaporizhzhia oblast where the death toll from a Russian aerial bomb attack reached at least 53. The strike targeted an underground school serving as a humanitarian center just as people gathered to receive aid, marking the deadliest Russian attack on Ukraine this year. A comparable loss of life occurred on April 8, 2022, when rockets struck the railway station in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, killing 63 passengers.
Russian Forces Destroy Site Using Heavy Ordnance
According to the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, Russian forces deployed at least nine guided aerial bombs against the site, using heavy ordnance including FAB-3000 and KAB bombs that completely destroyed the structure. The KAB, standing for korektiruemaja aviacionnaja bomba, is a conventional Soviet aerial bomb equipped by Moscow with wings and a basic satellite guidance system, allowing aircraft to release it from a safe distance of approximately 70 kilometers outside the reach of Ukrainian air defenses. The three-ton versions utilized in the strike contain up to 1,400 kilograms of explosives and are capable of demolishing an area within a 250-meter radius, obliterating apartment buildings or reinforced concrete underground shelters. Ukrainian police published body-camera footage capturing the moments before a secondary strike hit the shelter as residents, local officials, police officers, and rescue workers sought safety inside.
Chief of the regional military administration Mychajlo Semikin stated that search and rescue operations continued for five days at the site of the tragedy.
Ukrainian Authorities Condemn Deliberate Attack on Civilians
Ukrainian authorities condemned the operation as a deliberate attack on civilians and humanitarian workers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the attackers must have known the site was used for humanitarian assistance and criticized the international response. Bohužel je reakce světa na tento šílený útok velmi slabá,
Zelenskyy said on the social network X, adding that the action demands a strong response. He further noted that the incident follows thousands of other war crimes committed by Russia against Ukraine and its people, and remarked that following the ceasefire in Olešky, Russia could have demonstrated a desire for de-escalation instead of continuing to kill. Ukrainian police also rejected assertions from Moscow, stating that Russian officials falsely claimed the target was a location housing Ukrainian soldiers.
Moscow has consistently denied targeting civilian infrastructure during the conflict. As recovery efforts progress at the site of the destroyed school, the exact total of missing persons still trapped under the debris remains unconfirmed by regional officials.