Emergency services and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have reported that a Russian bombing of a school in the Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine has killed at least 26 people.
Reuters reported on Monday night, November 2, that the school had been used as a distribution center for humanitarian aid.
According to the report, Ukraine’s emergency services said two rescue team members and four police officers were among those killed.
Zelenskyy said Russian forces dropped bombs on a school in the village that had been serving as a shelter and a humanitarian aid distribution point on Mondays.
“The Russians carried out the first attack just as people were arriving at the site, dropping several aerial bombs. Then came a second attack, again with aerial bombs, this time targeting the shelter. A heinous terrorist attack,” Zelenskyy said.
He said the attack showed that Moscow intended to kill people rather than continue the humanitarian efforts carried out the previous week in the city of Oleshky.
Meanwhile, Regina Kharchenko, secretary of the Zaporizhzhia City Council, said 27 people had gone missing following the attack.
The bombing came one day after the end of a six-day local ceasefire aimed at delivering aid to Oleshky and evacuating residents who wished to leave the area.
