More than 30 dead after Russia bombs Ukrainian school

Local officials said at least 31 people died on Monday as Russia dropped heavy bombs on a school building in southeastern Ukraine.

The bombs hit the town of Komyshuvakha, a small town in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, according to Mykhailo Semikin, the acting head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration in Ukraine. He added that another 48 people were still missing. Semikin announced that the Zaporizhzhia region would observe a three-day mourning period for those lost, starting on Tuesday. The attack was one of the largest tragedies in terms of human casualties in Zaporizhzhia since the start of the full-scale war, Semikin said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack took place during a weekly humanitarian aid distribution. Russia had to have been aware of the distribution, Zelenskyy added, saying that the attack proved that Russia was counting on further killing. As the death toll continued to rise, Semikin reported that two rescue workers and four police officers were among the deceased. The Russian attack followed a pattern established over the past few months, in which an initial wave of bombs was unleashed, followed by a second wave after emergency responders arrived at the scene to help injured Ukrainians.

The attack utilized FAB-3000 bombs, aerial glider bombs with integrated wings that contain nearly a ton and a half of explosives, which are often used to destroy strong concrete fortifications and bunkers, Semikin said. The massive bombs collapsed the shelter under the school where people had gone following the first wave of attacks, trapping them in the rubble. Zelenskyy called the attack a despicable act of terror.