The death toll from a Russian airstrike on the village of Komyshuvakha in Zaporizhzhia Oblast rose to 40 on November 4, 2026, as the search operation entered its third day, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and local officials.
Bombs on an aid point
Russian forces struck the village on the morning of November 2 with aerial bombs, including a 3-ton FAB-3000 carrying more than 1,000 kg of explosives with a blast radius of up to 250 metres. The first strike hit a school being used as a humanitarian aid distribution centre. Nine more bombs were then dropped on a shelter where people had taken cover.
Dozens still missing
Some of the bodies had not yet been identified. Among the dead were two rescue workers, Denys Konovalenko and Oleksii Sushchevskyi. Zelenskyy said more than 30 people may still be trapped under the rubble. A gymnasium, an outbuilding and a fire truck were destroyed and the school was damaged.
“Insane attack”
Zelenskyy called it an “insane attack” and an “exceptionally horrific strike,” and urged partners to provide more air defence. Governor Mykhailo Semikin said: “The scale of the tragedy is horrific.”
International response
Latvia, which holds the UN Security Council presidency in November, convened an emergency meeting of the council over the attack.
Sources
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