Ukraine says 40 people have been killed in Russian strikes on a humanitarian aid centre and nearby shelter in Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region. Rescue teams are still searching for people trapped in the rubble.
Updated 4 November 2026: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised the reported Komyshuvakha death toll to 40, according to the Associated Press, and said around 30 people could still be buried. The figures remain provisional.
The deadly attack on Monday 2 November came amid Russian strikes across Ukraine that also damaged a hospice in Dnipro, a hospital in Kharkiv and critical energy infrastructure.
What happened at the aid distribution centre?
Russian glide bombs struck a former school in Komyshuvakha as residents gathered to receive humanitarian supplies, Ukrainian officials said. The school was no longer holding classes but was being used as an aid distribution point and shelter near the front line.
According to the UN, local authorities had announced the distribution in advance. Subsequent strikes also hit a nearby shelter. The UN humanitarian coordinator said two rescue workers and four police officers were killed in strikes after the initial attack.
Reuters reported an earlier toll of 37 dead and 59 missing on Wednesday morning. Later on 4 November, the Associated Press reported Zelenskyy’s revised figure of 40 deaths and around 30 potentially still buried. These are successive estimates of the same incident, not separate death tolls.
What has the United Nations said?
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission said local authorities had reported at least 31 civilian deaths and five injuries as of the evening of 3 November. The mission was continuing independent verification. Its head, Danielle Bell, said the circumstances appeared to violate fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, noting that the distribution time and location had been publicised. That is an assessment, not a court ruling.
Hospice and hospital damaged
In Dnipro, Mayor Borys Filatov said a missile strike destroyed a hospice, forcing nearly 50 terminally ill patients to be transferred to other hospitals. Local authorities reported two deaths and 20 injuries in attacks on the city. Médecins Sans Frontières also reported evacuating patients from damaged healthcare facilities.
In Kharkiv, an attack damaged a hospital and Ukrainian officials reported 73 people injured or otherwise affected, including people experiencing acute stress. The figure should not automatically be interpreted as 73 confirmed physical injuries.
Energy infrastructure and Russia’s response
Zelenskyy said Russia launched 289 drones, 17 ballistic missiles and 59 cruise missiles overnight on 2–3 November, targeting energy facilities in several regions and causing power and water disruption. Further attacks overnight into Wednesday caused temporary outages in Kyiv and surrounding areas.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said it had targeted Ukrainian military units around Komyshuvakha, claiming up to 25 Ukrainian servicemen had died. That claim has not been independently verified and does not demonstrate that the aid distribution centre was a legitimate military target.
What remains uncertain?
Rescue and identification work is continuing, so the death toll and number missing may change. The UN has not yet independently verified a final civilian casualty total.
