The death toll from Russian strikes on the settlement of Komyshuvakha on Nov. 2 has risen to 31. Ivan Fedorov, co-chair of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Defense Council, reported on Telegram on the morning of Nov. 3 that the count stood at 29, with 5 wounded and 48 still unaccounted for.
Since that announcement, the number of confirmed killed has risen to 31, and it is expected to rise as search-and-rescue operations continue.
“The enemy deliberately struck the community with a FAB-3000, hitting people who had simply come to receive humanitarian aid,” Fedorov wrote.
“The Russians are proving again and again that they hate Ukraine and everything in it. If Russia truly wanted de-escalation, then now, after Oleshky, there was a moment when humanitarian steps could have continued. We proposed this. But Russia continues the killings,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote late on Nov. 2.
Zelensky was referring to a limited six-day ceasefire around the Russian-occupied town Oleshky that was brokered with the involvement of U.S. first lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo XIV. The pause in hostilities allowed roads to be cleared of mines, humanitarian supplies to enter the town, and nearly 800 residents to be evacuated. Ukrainian and Russian officials said both sides upheld their commitments during the localized ceasefire, which expired on Nov. 1.
Russian aircraft struck Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia District several times beginning on the morning of Nov. 2. A school building being used as a humanitarian aid distribution point for local residents was hit. At least 10 aerial bombs were dropped on the settlement, including on a shelter where people had taken cover. Zelensky said classes had long since been cancelled at the school due to Komyshuvakha’s proximity to the front line; the building and its shelter were instead being used for humanitarian work, with aid distributed there every Monday. He said several bombs were dropped as people arrived, followed by another wave that struck the shelter.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said two rescue workers and four police officers were among those killed.
By the morning of Nov. 3, acting regional governor Mykhailo Semikin said 48 people were still listed as missing and five had been injured as crews continued searching the rubble. The Zaporizhzhia Region declared Nov. 3 a day of mourning for the victims.
