Russian bombing of a school used as an aid centre in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region kills at least 40, Zelensky says

Russian aerial bombs hit a school used to hand out humanitarian aid, and then a shelter, in the village of Komyshuvakha in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region on Monday 2 November. This report draws on Interfax-Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda, the Kyiv Post, BBC News, Reuters, the Kyiv Independent and other outlets listed below. ## Update: toll rises to at least 40 At least 40 people have now been reported killed, Zelensky said on Wednesday 4 November, adding that some bodies had not yet been identified and that more than 30 people may still be under the rubble, Interfax-Ukraine and Ukrainska Pravda report. Earlier reports had put the toll at 37, with 48 people listed as missing, Interfax-Ukraine reports. Search teams were working for a third day under the threat of further strikes, Zelensky said. "Unfortunately, there has been very little reaction from the world to this insane attack," he said, according to Interfax-Ukraine and the Kyiv Post. The Kyiv Post reports that Latvia, which holds the UN Security Council presidency in November, has called for an extraordinary session over the strike, and that police are collecting DNA samples from relatives to identify the dead. Three days of mourning were declared in Zaporizhzhia region from 3 to 5 November. ## The strikes Russian forces dropped nine aerial bombs, first on people collecting aid at the school and then on the shelter where residents had taken cover and on the rescuers and police who arrived, Zelensky said, Ukrainska Pravda and the Kyiv Post report. At least four police officers and two rescuers were among the dead, the Kyiv Post reports. Russia's defence ministry said it targeted Ukrainian military units, Reuters reports, while the UN human rights monitoring mission said the attack "seems to have violated the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law", the BBC reports.